The ICE cotton July 2025 contract settled at 69.17 cents per pound (0.453 kg), up 0.14 cent from the previous day. The contract has gained 235 points over the last three sessions. The December contract settled at 70.37 cents, up 0.40 cent on the day, with a cumulative gain of 207 points over the same period. Other contracts posted gains of up to 38 points or losses of up to 21 points.
ICE cotton futures touched a three-month high as a weaker US dollar made cotton more affordable for overseas buyers.
The July 2025 contract settled at 69.17 cents per pound, up 0.14 cent, with a 235-point gain over three sessions.
Despite a 49 per cent weekly drop in US export sales, analysts said dollar weakness and prior technical strength continued to support the market.
Total trading volume stood at 47,440 contracts, compared to 73,307 contracts cleared the previous day, indicating continued active market participation. ICE data showed no change in deliverable No. 2 cotton stocks as of April 23, which remained at 14,478 bales.
According to the USDA weekly export sales report for the week ending April 17, net sales for the current marketing year totalled 104,000 bales—down 49 per cent from the previous week and 22 per cent below the average of the prior four weeks. Net sales to mainland China fell by 5,300 tons, indicating a decline in demand from a key buyer.
Market support stemmed from a weaker US dollar, which made cotton more attractive to foreign buyers holding other currencies. According to market analysts, despite the disappointing export report, the market is holding firm due to dollar weakness and earlier technical strength.
Currently, ICE cotton for July 2025 is trading at 69.67 cents per pound (up 0.40 cent), cash cotton was traded at 67.42 cents (up 0.14 cent), the May 2025 contract at 67.30 cents (down 1.45 cent), the October 2025 contract at 70.71 cents (up 0.32 cent), the December 2025 contract at 70.68 cents (up 0.31 cents) and the March 2026 contract at 71.71 cents per pound (up 0.29 cent). A few contracts remained unchanged from the previous close, with no trades reported today.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
