ICE’s most active December 2025 contract settled at 66.67 cents per pound (0.453 kg), up 0.21 cent, after touching 67.10 cents — the highest level since August 29. Despite the rebound, this was still the 12th lowest settlement for the contract. December cotton has gained 64 points over the last three sessions, recovering from last Friday’s contract low of 66.03 cents. Other contracts settled between 25 points lower and 22 points higher, except October, which jumped 91 points.
ICE cotton futures climbed to a 2-week high, supported by a weaker US dollar, rising crude oil prices, and anticipation of USDA’s WASDE and export sales reports.
December 2025 settled at 66.67 cents/lb, up 0.21 cent.
Trading volumes surged to a six-session high.
A softer dollar boosted export competitiveness, while stronger oil prices raised polyester costs, lending further support to cotton prices.
The US dollar index slipped to 97.74 after US producer prices unexpectedly fell in August, led by service-sector declines. This strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates at its upcoming meeting. A weaker dollar improves the competitiveness of US cotton exports.
Crude oil futures on the NYMEX rose over $1 per barrel, driven by rising global tensions, though gains were capped by data showing higher US inventories. Costlier oil raises polyester production costs, indirectly supporting cotton prices.
Trading activity surged, with 33,640 contracts exchanged—the busiest in six sessions—compared with 23,885 in the prior session. ICE data showed deliverable No. 2 cotton futures inventory remained unchanged at 15,474 packages as of September 9.
Market attention now shifts to key USDA releases: the weekly export sales report on Thursday and the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) on Saturday. Forecasts for US and global production are mixed, with some traders expecting minimal changes, while consumption projections are slightly higher, a view many analysts consider overly optimistic.
Elsewhere, US soybean and corn futures eased as traders squared positions ahead of the USDA supply and demand updates.
Currently, ICE cotton for December 2025 is trading at 66.72 cents per pound (up 0.05 cent), cash cotton at 64.31 cents (up 0.91 cent), the October 2025 contract at 65.56 cents (up 0.91 cent), the March 2026 contract at 68.56 cents (down 0.03 cent), the May 2026 contract at 70.00 cents (up 0.04 cent) and the July 2026 contract at 70.86 cents (up 0.02 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels, with no trading recorded today.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)