Cotton Slips Lower into the Long Weekend

Market Overview - Cotton futures experienced losses of 15 to 20 points at the close on Friday, but March futures gained 105 points over the week [1] - Crude oil futures decreased by 3 cents per barrel, settling at $62.81 [1] - The US dollar index fell by $0.067 to 96.770 [1] - The markets will be closed on Monday for President's Day [1] Export Commitments - USDA's Export Sales data reported 8.034 million RB of cotton export commitments, which is 12% lower than the previous year [1] - This figure represents 71% of USDA's revised export projection, a decline from the previous average pace of 88% [1] Speculative Positions - CFTC data indicated an increase of 3,856 contracts in the spec net short position for the week ending on February 10 [2] - Managed money held a net short position of 75,602 contracts as of Tuesday [2] Cotton Sales and Prices - The Seam reported sales of 15,617 bales on February 12, with an average price of 57.90 cents per pound [3] - The Cotlook A Index rose by 25 points to 73.55 cents [3] - ICE certified cotton stocks increased by 3,808 bales, reaching a total of 106,040 bales [3] - The Adjusted World Price was reduced to 49.39 cents per pound, down 39 points from the previous week [3] Futures Prices - March 26 Cotton closed at 62.11, down 18 points [3] - May 26 Cotton closed at 64.13, down 20 points [3] - July 26 Cotton closed at 65.82, down 16 points [3]