Cotton Holding higher on Thursday

Group 1 - Cotton futures are trading with contracts 9 to 15 points higher across the front months on Thursday [1] - The National Cotton Council estimates the US cotton planted area total at 9 million acres this year according to their annual survey [1] Group 2 - USDA's Export Sales report showed a total of 231,031 RB of cotton sold in the week ending on February 5, which is 22.3% above the same week last year [2] - Shipments were reported at 188,597 RB, marking a 3-week low [2] Group 3 - The Seam reported sales of 11,722 bales sold on February 11, averaging 57.17 cents/lb [3] - ICE certified cotton stocks increased by 3,136 bales on February 11, with the certified stocks level at 102,232 bales [3] - The Adjusted World Price for the current week is 49.78 cents/lb, with updates expected later [3]