New York cotton futures at three-week low-Texglobe

New York cotton futures at three-week low

Updated: 2010-6-30 Source: Texglobe-信息中心

NEW YORK (June 30 2010): Cotton futures settled at a three-week low Tuesday on investor sales sparked by news of a more downbeat assessment of economic growth for No 1 cotton consumer China and weakness in the commodity complex. The key December cotton contract fell 0.32 cent to conclude at 78.13 cents per lb, the lowest settlement price on the third position cotton contract since June 9.

Volume traded in the December contract stood at 8,188 lots. December fell as low as 77.04 cents, the lowest intra-day level since June 9, after China's leading economic index was revised downwards by the Conference Board to a 0.3 percent gain in April rather than the 1.7 percent rise the group earlier projected. "The ripple effect (from the Chinese news) was unbelievable," said Mike Stevens, an analyst for brokers SFS Futures in Mandeville, Louisiana. The news threw a "bucket of cold water on the demand side" outlook of cotton, Stevens said.

The market recovered late on suspected consumer buying and analysts said the trade will now be looking toward the release on Wednesday of the US Agriculture Department's annual planted acreage report, expected to show a three-year high due to good prices and near ideal growing weather. Brokers Flanagan Trading Corp see resistance in the December cotton contract at 78.80 and 79.65 cents, with support at 77.90 and 77 cents. Volume traded Monday reached 11,289 lots, from the prior tally of 5,895 lots, ICE Futures US data showed. Open interest in the No 2 cotton market was at 164,298 lots as of June 28, compared to the prior 164,397 lots.