ICE cotton futures rebound on port strike deal, higher oil prices
Oct 4 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures rebounded on Friday, buoyed by a tentative deal ending a major port strike that had disrupted trade and shipping across the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts, while higher oil prices also added to the upbeat sentiment.
* Cotton contracts for December CTZ4 rose 0.4 cent, or 0.55%, at 73.13 cents per lb at 12:08 p.m. EDT (1608 GMT). The natural fibre hit their lowest level in a week in the previous session.
* "The port strike that's been impacting trade and shipping in and out of the U.S., today seems to have come up to a tentative deal," said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management consultant at StoneX Group.
"And that seems to be at least an encouragement to all the markets, particularly the commodities side, which has been deeply impacted already in just a couple of days that they've been shut down."
* U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports were reopened on Friday after dockworkers and port operators reached a wage deal to settle the industry's biggest work stoppage in nearly half a century, but clearing the cargo backlog will take time.
* Oil prices were on track for weekly gains as investors feared a wider Middle East conflict could disrupt crude flows after President Joe Biden said the U.S. was discussing an Israeli attack on Iranian oil facilities. O/R
* Higher oil prices make cotton-substitute polyester more expensive.
* Keeping cotton gains in check, the dollar .DXY rose 0.6% against its rivals, making cotton more expensive for other currency holders. USD/
* In other agricultural markets, Chicago wheat slipped for a second day, as traders monitored rain forecasts for drought-hit Russian wheat belts and assessed how war escalation and importer demand might affect exports, while corn futures also eased. GRA/
* Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly report on Thursday showed net sales of upland cotton for 2024/2025 rose 9% to 95,800 running bales from the previous week, but were down 26% from the prior 4-week average. EXP/COT
Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese and Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
