ICE Cotton posted solid gains on the back of strong physical demand this week, with Z3 gaining over 200 pts to close at 86.69. The selling out of Australian cotton has shifted buyers towards the US, however due to the late crop and smaller harvest in South Texas this year supplies are limited for prompt shipment.
This has led to a lot of inquiry and firmer price ideas, but without as much actual business occurring as would otherwise be the case. US Export sales this week were disappointing, but should increase next week.
Firm prices in Pakistan, flooding in India, a large reduction (-600k MT) to the Chinese crop by the Ministry of Agriculture, a high (8.5m MT) usage estimate from the CCA's Gao Fang, and a policy speech by an NDRC rep also aided the bullish mindset today.
A US government shut-down due to begin Oct 1st looks to have been averted or at least delayed due to measures taken in Congress today. The Democratic-led US Senate will reportedly put the ball back in the House of Representatives court by moving forward a bill that will temporarily allow the government to remain open and without de-funding "Obamacare."
How the Republican-led House responds remains to be seen, but we can expect more headlines about this continuing in coming weeks. Next Friday is the release of the US monthly unemployment report, which will be read closely for implications towards Fed tapering at the October and December meetings.
