DTN Closing Cotton Commentary
The cotton market traded sharply "underwater" today, coming within one point of touching limit-down. Then, akin to a beach ball, it snapped-up to hover near the 90-cent mark. According to analysts and traders, the market has become overly bloated with long spectators. There was an unsubstantiated rumor that the Trump/Xi meeting on September 24 had been postponed. Traders are looking ahead to tomorrow's export sales, and Friday's jobs report and CFTC update.
Tomorrow at 8:30 a.m., USDA will release its latest round of export sales. Last week saw reduced net-sales of 95,000 bales for the current season, and 30,000 for the 2027/2028 year. Shipments tallied 181,000 bales, which was also a low-end number.
On Friday, traders will see new monthly jobs data for August. Last month, the Labor Department reported a net job loss of 85,000 non-farm jobs. The report is out at 8:30 a.m.
Also, on Friday at 3:30 p.m., the CFTC will update its weekly C-O-T numbers. Last week, the managed-money funds bought some 17,000 positions, swelling their net-long carry to 95,000 contracts. Their record long position stands around 108,000.
The six-to-ten-day weather forecast (September 8-September 11) shows above normal temperatures for the breadth of the U.S. Cotton Belt. Texas will have slightly above-normal chances, while the Delta and the Southeast will have normal chances.
For today, December closed at 8893, down 262 points, March 2027 finished at 9130 minus 238 points, and July 2027 settled at 9223, 199 points lower. Today's estimated volume was 107,487 contracts.
Keith Brown can be reached at commodityconsults@gmail.com
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