Negative Factors Have Always Troubled Cotton Futures Market

ICE cotton futures fell to 66.27 cents/pound on Thursday, hitting the lowest level in more than two months as selling pressure continued.

The weak export sales report of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) put pressure on prices, but selling pressure is the simplest way at present, and there may not be many specific bearish factors at present.

The export sales report was fairly stable, although not as strong as in the previous two weeks.

The export sales report released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday showed that in the week ending January 23, the net export sales of US cotton in the current year increased by 2800000 bales, 20% less than the previous week, and 20% more than the average of the previous four weeks.

Next year, US cotton export sales increased by 38600 bales. The export shipment of American cotton was 153500 bales, down 31% from the previous week and 19% from the average of the previous four weeks, including 23400 bales exported to China.

There are two negative factors that have plagued the market for a period of time. One is that bearish speculators continue to sell after each rebound, and the other is that actual producers holding spot goods sell cotton in stock during each rebound. However, cotton is not traded in a vacuum. As you can see, the prices of corn and beans, energy, gold and stock markets will rise. As time goes by, cotton prices will tend to stabilize and begin to rise.