Cotton futures fell on Monday following three straight sessions of gains as expectations for improving weather weighed on prices ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report after the market close.
The second-month December cotton contract on ICE Futures US had hit two-year highs last week, breaking through the key 75-cent level in a technical rally supported by hot and dry weather conditions in key producing regions in the United States and India.
"(The market)
The rising demand for cotton in front of short supply pushed cotton prices higher on Saturday to touch a new high this season.
The overnight rising trend in cotton prices intensified on reports that current spell of rains would continue and many cotton-growing areas in Sindh and Punjab have already received substantial rains.
Though rain could be beneficial for cotton crop to some extent in Punjab as the plants are still not fully mature, it may hurt Sindh crop which is currently in flower
ICE cotton futures jumped over 2 percent to the highest in over two years on Thursday, as prices broke through the key 75 cent level on a technical rally supported by concerns over weather. The market also factored in weekly export sales data from the US government, which showed net upland sales totalled 226,700 running bales of cotton for the week ended July 28 for the 2016/2017 marketing year, up 25 percent from the previous week.
The December cotton contract on ICE Futures US rose 1.56 cen
Cotton futures edged up on Wednesday as concerns over dry weather in Texas persisted amid broad gains across commodities even as the market awaited weekly export sales data on Thursday. "Higher value of US currency probably has hindered upward movement, along with uncertainty regarding tomorrow's export report" said Louis Rose, an independent cotton trader and consultant with Risk Analytics in Memphis, Tennessee.
The December cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled up 0.31 cent, or 0.42 per
