Cotton Prices Fall Despite Strong Sales Abroad
September 21 2017 - 4:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Julie Wernau
Cotton prices dropped lower Thursday despite quickening
shipments of U.S. cotton overseas.
Cotton for December delivery fell 1.4% to end at 68.25 cents a
pound on the ICE futures U.S. exchange. The weekly government
report on sales and shipments of fiber overseas showed net sales of
cotton at 278,000 bales, with shipment at 181,000 bales.
Rose Commodity group said sales were nearly three times the
weekly pace requires to hit the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
export target but shipments fell short.
"We think today's report is supportive for December futures,"
the firm said. "Still, with U.S. harvest pressure imminent, traders
will likely want to see more of the same before sponsoring a
rally."
A collapse last week in futures prices helped push sales,
traders said. Traders were aggressive sellers last week after
Hurricane Irma spared major cotton growing areas in the southeast
United States, Plexus Cotton noted.
Traders have been speculating about the size of this year's
cotton crop after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released an
estimate this month that didn't take into account damaged cotton
bales in Texas due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Plexus
estimated that the USDA's 21.76 million bale production estimate
could be overstated by 800,000 bales.
"Prices are likely to come under further pressure as the window
for weather related issues is closing," the firm said, with prices
likely to hit the low 60s once crops are harvested.
In other markets, raw sugar for March was up 0.2% to end at
14.73 cents a pound, cocoa for December rose 1.2% to end at $2,021
a ton, arabica coffee for December was off 1.1% to settle at $1.35
a pound and frozen concentrated orange juice for November lost 1.6%
to end at $1.5225 a pound.
Write to Julie Wernau at julie.wernau@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 21, 2017 16:31 ET (20:31 GMT)
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