Cotton price action early on Monday is showing gains of 120 to 145 points, following a productive meeting with the US and China. Futures slipped back on Friday, with contracts down 8 to 15 points at the close, as July was down 180 points last week. Crude oil prices were back up $1.14/barrel. The US dollar index was down $0.235 to $100.255.

The meeting between US and China trade reps saw progress, as an announcement overnight showed a drop in tariffs by 115% for each country. The US dropped their rate to 30% on Chinese goods, while China cut theirs to 10%. 

CFTC data showed specs cutting another 5,182 contracts from their net short position as of May 6 to 21,049 contracts. 

USDA’s Export Sales report showed current cotton commitments for export at 11.033 million running bales, which is a 5% drop from last year. That is also 108% of the USDA export forecast for the 2024/25 marketing year, matching the 108 average pace. 

The Thursday online auction from The Seam showed sales of 797 ales at an average price of 55.13 cents/lb. The Cotlook A Index was down 5 points on Wednesday at 78.95. ICE cotton stocks were down 416 bales on May 8 on a mix of new certifications and decerts, with a certified stocks level of 16,721 bales. USDA’s Adjusted World Price (AWP) was back down 13 points on Thursday to 54.81 cents/lb. 

Jul 25 Cotton  closed at 66.61, down 8 points, currently up 148 points

Oct 25 Cotton  closed at 68.8, down 11 points, currently up 129 points

Dec 25 Cotton  closed at 68.67, down 8 points currently up 123 points