Group 1: Cotton Market Overview - Cotton futures are experiencing gains of 3 to 5 points at midday, with March futures down 3 points [1] - USDA's Export Sales report indicated a total of 153,266 RB of cotton sold in the week ending on December 4, marking a 3-week high for sales but 10.19% lower than the same week last year [1] - Shipments for the same week were recorded at 101,577 RB, which is noted as a marketing year low [1] Group 2: Price and Auction Data - The 12/19 online auction from The Seam reported sales of 18,183 bales at an average price of 59.38 cents/lb [3] - The Cotlook A Index remained steady at 73.30 cents on December 19 [3] - ICE certified cotton stocks were unchanged at 12,396 bales [3] Group 3: Futures Prices - March 26 Cotton is priced at 63.72 cents, down 3 points [3] - May 26 Cotton is priced at 64.87 cents, up 3 points [3] - July 26 Cotton is priced at 65.91 cents, up 5 points [3] Group 4: CFTC Data - CFTC data revealed that managed money reduced their net short positions by 4,774 contracts, bringing the total to 55,013 contracts for the week ending on 12/9 [2]

Group 1 - Soybean futures experienced a decline, with contracts falling 15 to 17 cents lower on Friday, resulting in a weekly loss of 28 cents for the January contract [1] - The national average cash bean price decreased by 17 cents, settling at $10.06 1/2 [1] - Soymeal futures showed mixed results, with front months increasing by 40 cents to $1.80, while January closed down $4.90 [1] Group 2 - The upcoming Export Sales report is expected to show soybean sales between 0.8-3 million metric tons (MMT) for the week of November 20, with meal sales estimated at 100,000-450,000 metric tons and bean oil sales at 5,000-25,000 metric tons [2] - Commitment of Traders data indicated that spec funds added 35,182 contracts to their net long position, reaching a total of 229,625 contracts net long, the highest since October 2020 [3] - AgRural reported that the Brazilian soybean crop is 97% planted as of Thursday [3]