After a strong start for the week, the ICE Dec contract encountered weakness following the dissemination of strong US export sales data, ultimately giving up 150 points and settling at 69.07. The settlement was near the lower end of the trading range with the market trading more than 300 points off Thursday’s intraweek high at 71.79. The Dec – Mar spread remains at far less than full carry.
For this week…
The ICE Dec contract gave up 73 points on Fri, settling at 69.0 – a 150 point weekly setback. Mar picked lost 61 points, settling at 69.47, the net effect leaving the Dec – Mar spread weakened at (40). Volume for Dec delivery quickened noticeably at nearly 23.5K lots while Dec OI contracted at just above 147K contracts.
For today…
The ICE Dec contract gave up 5 points on Wed, ahead of the weekly US cotton export report, settling at 71.10. However, the daily trading range was heavily skewed to the downside. Mar picked up a single point, settling at 71.45, the net effect leaving the Dec – Mar spread weakened slightly at (35). Volume for Dec delivery slowed at nearly 14K lots while Dec OI expanded at almost 148K contracts.
For today…
The ICE Dec contract gave up 4 points on Tue, settling at 71.15. Mar also gave back 4 points, settling at 71.45, the net effect leaving the Dec – Mar spread unchanged at (30). Volume for Dec delivery was near unchanged at approximately 17.4K lots while Dec OI expanded at around 146K contracts.
For Wed…
