The July 2026 contract settled at 71.10 cents per pound, down 0.16 cent. The contract traded in a range between 72.09 cents and 71.01 cents per pound. July contract posed weakest settlement since April 1 and remained the only actively traded contract to close negative. December contract settled unchanged at 75.30 cents. Other deferred contracts ended with 2 to 28 points higher.
ICE cotton futures remained under pressure, with the July contract falling to its lowest settlement since April 1 as fund liquidation and a stronger US dollar weighed on sentiment.
Weak crude oil and grain markets added to the bearish tone, while traders focused on July contract rollovers ahead of First Notice Day.
Technical factors continue to dominate price direction ahead of the WASDE report.
Cotton futures remain sharply below the May 11 highs of 88.88 cents for July and 88.08 cents for December, showing how severe the correction has been over the past four weeks.
Grain markets also extended losses from recent highs as speculative funds continued heavy long liquidation across agricultural commodities.
A firmer US dollar added additional pressure to cotton futures by reducing export competitiveness. Chinese market commentary indicated that outside market weakness and dollar strength remained key bearish influences on ICE cotton.
Analysts noted that the market may finally be seeing some bargain-buying support after the recent panic-style decline. Trade sentiment suggested that technical selling and fund positioning are still dominating market direction more than actual crop fundamentals.
Traders continue monitoring whether the recent liquidation phase is approaching exhaustion after several weeks of heavy selling pressure. Major focus remains on July contract liquidation ahead of First Notice Day, which is now only nine trading sessions away or roughly two weeks.
July open interest started the session at 54,272 contracts after plunging by 13,060 contracts in the previous trading session. The sharp decline in open interest confirms that longs continue exiting July positions ahead of delivery period risk. July options are scheduled to expire this Friday, and a large number of contracts currently remain in-the-money. Options expiration is expected to remove another sizeable portion of open interest from the July contract.
Today’s total trading volume reached 98,116 contracts, reflecting active but slower participation compared to the prior session. Previous session cleared volume totalled 125,072 contracts, ranking as the 13th highest volume day in cotton futures trading history. Extremely high recent volume levels highlight the intensity of fund liquidation and position reshuffling occurring in the market.
Persistent inflation concerns could reduce expectations for aggressive Fed rate cuts and continue supporting the US dollar. But stronger dollar conditions remain negative for commodities including cotton, grains, and energy markets.
Attention is also shifting toward the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report scheduled later today. Trade expectations suggest the USDA report may not create a major immediate market impact because recent price action has been dominated by technical liquidation.
Analysts indicated that much of the bearishness tied to old-crop supply tightness may already have been priced into the market decline. Market participants remain cautious due to ongoing volatility, heavy liquidation activity, and uncertainty surrounding macroeconomic conditions.
Overall market tone remained technically weak but showed early signs of temporary stabilisation and bargain support after the sharp multi-week selloff.
This morning (Indian Standard Time), ICE cotton for July 2026 was traded at 71.17 cents per pound (up 0.07 cent), cash cotton at 68.10 cents (down 0.16 cent), the October 2026 contract at 73.75 cents (up 0.47 cent), the December 2026 contract at 75.31 cents (up 0.01 cent), the March 2027 contract at 76.63 cents (up 0.03 cent) and the May 2027 contract at 77.57 cents (down 0.05 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels, with no trading recorded so far today.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
