The July 2026 contract settled at 72.49 cents per pound, up 1.39 cent. The contract noticed volatile intraday range, recovering sharply from the previous session’s low near 71.01 cents, the weakest nearby price since April 1. December contract settled at 76.39 cents, up 1.06 cent. Previously, it fell to 75.23 cents, the lowest level since early April. Other deferred contracts ended with gains of 13 to 136 points.
ICE cotton futures rebounded on technical short covering, strong US export sales and a supportive USDA WASDE report showing lower global ending stocks.
July futures settled at 72.49 cents/lb and December at 76.39 cents/lb.
Softer US inflation improved sentiment, but traders remain cautious as volatility is expected ahead of First Notice Day and options expiry.
Despite Thursday’s strong rally, weekly performance remained negative as July futures were still down 126 points for the week, while December remained lower by 112 points, highlighting that the market is still recovering from recent bearish pressure.
Total daily trading volume surged to 123,082 contracts, making it the 15th highest volume session ever recorded in ICE cotton futures history and signalling extremely active participation from both speculative funds and commercial traders. Cleared volume from the previous session stood at 98,116 contracts, further confirming elevated market activity and aggressive repositioning by traders.
Market participants described the rally mainly as a short-covering bounce, with traders buying back previously sold positions after the market became technically oversold following recent sharp declines. July futures outperforming December despite ongoing First Notice Day liquidation pressure suggested aggressive stop-loss buying and possible commercial support in nearby contracts.
Traders expect continued sharp volatility as July First Notice Day is only 8 trading sessions away and July options expiry is scheduled for Friday, increasing the chance of rapid position adjustments and stop-driven price swings.
Chinese market commentary stated that previous ICE weakness had been driven by falling crude oil prices, weaker grain markets and expectations of a stronger US dollar, all of which pressured commodity sentiment globally.
Analysts noted that although bearish sentiment in cotton has eased considerably after the rebound, the market still lacks a major fresh bullish fundamental trigger capable of sustaining a long-term uptrend.
Softer-than-expected US inflation data released this week improved overall commodity market sentiment by increasing expectations that the Federal Reserve may eventually move towards interest-rate cuts.
USDA Weekly Export Sales Report for the week ending June 4 showed very strong cotton demand with total net sales reaching 511,532 bales for all marketing years combined. USDA June WASDE report added further support by reducing projected 2026-27 world ending stocks by 711,000 bales compared with last month’s estimate.
Traders viewed the USDA report as supportive because lower stocks and higher consumption point towards tightening global availability, but the market reaction remained limited because much of the positive news had already been priced into Thursday’s rally.
Overall market tone shifted from strongly bearish towards ‘less bearish’ as improving export demand, tightening stocks, softer US inflation data and extremely high trading volumes helped stabilise sentiment, although traders still remain cautious due to unchanged production forecasts and expected near-term volatility.
This morning (Indian Standard Time), ICE cotton for July 2026 was traded at 72.96 cents per pound (up 0.47 cent), cash cotton at 69.49 cents (up 1.39 cent), the October 2026 contract at 74.74 cents (up 0.10 cent), the December 2026 contract at 76.85 cents (up 0.49 cent), the March 2027 contract at 78.09 cents (up 0.49 cent), and the May 2027 contract at 78.97 cents (up 0.51 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels, with no trading recorded so far today.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
