ICE Cotton Trends Closed Almost Unchanged on The Week

ICE Cotton closed almost unchanged on the week at just over 83 c/lbs, as specs continued reducing their long position while the trade bought back hedges against physical sales.
 
Demand woke up from a range of markets with futures under 84 cents, with China particularly notable in its return to the market and strong sales to a number of countries listed on today’s USDA export sales report.
 
The policy outcome in China is still uncertain, but at this point it looks that reserve purchasing will begin in the coming week or so, albeit perhaps at a reduced rate and pace, and reserve sales will resume before year end, but without the 3:1 quota issued in previous rounds.
 
The release of the US August Jobs report fell short of expectations at 169k jobs created. Although the jobless rate decreased, this was due (as in recent reports) to declines in the number of people actively looking for work.
 
The emerging market currency sell-off that dominated headlines last week took a pause this week, although longer-term concerns remain.
 
The world’s attention also remains on whether and how the US will attach the Syrian government, with President Obama looking increasingly likely to win the backing of the US Congress in the endeavor.