Cotton Close Mixed on Friday

Market Overview - Cotton futures experienced a decline of 3 to 36 points in the 2026 contracts, while deferred contracts increased by 8 to 32 points. The May contract was up 146 points for the week [1] - Crude oil prices rose by $2.67 to $98.81, and the US dollar index increased by $0.237 to 99.295 [1] Commitment of Traders - The Commitment of Traders data indicated that speculators liquidated a significant portion of their net short position, reducing it by 26,549 contracts in the week ending on March 17. This marked the largest reduction on record, bringing the net short position down to 40,205 contracts [2] Export Sales Data - Total cotton export commitments reached 9.354 million running bales (RB), reflecting a 9% decrease from the previous year. This figure represents 83% of the USDA's forecast and is below the 96% average pace from the last five years [3] - Cotton shipments totaled 5.303 million RB, which is 5% lower than a year ago and accounts for 47% of the USDA export estimate, lagging behind the 52% average shipping pace [3] Market Prices and Stocks - The Seam reported sales of 3,286 bales on March 19, averaging 65.60 cents per pound. The Cotlook A Index remained steady at 79.35 cents [4] - ICE certified cotton stocks were unchanged as of March 18, with a total of 115,640 bales. The Adjusted World Price increased by 2.72 cents to 54.22 cents per pound [4] - Closing prices for cotton on May 26 were 67.31 (down 36 points), July 26 at 69.33 (down 28 points), and December 26 at 71.96 (down 3 points) [4]