ICE cotton declines on better US crop outlook; market range bound

ICE’s most active December 2025 contract settled at 67.89 cents per pound (0.453 kg), down 0.57 cent or 0.83 per cent. The contract fell as low as 67.51 cents, marking the lowest intraday level since June 24, 2025. Other contracts closed 27 to 52 points lower.

The US dollar remained strong against other currencies, making dollar-priced cotton less affordable for international buyers and weakening global demand sentiment.

Total trading volume on July 7 was 33,685 contracts, higher than the 25,989 contracts traded during the previous (pre-holiday) session on Thursday. ICE-certified deliverable stock (No. 2 contracts) as of July 3, 2025, remained unchanged at 40,324 bales, indicating no new deliveries or withdrawals.

The decline in prices was primarily due to favourable weather in key US cotton and grain-producing regions, which improved crop yield prospects. While Texas experienced some localised flooding, beneficial rains in the Midwest helped boost production potential, supporting a bearish tone in both cotton and grains.

According to the USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report for the week ending July 6, 2025, cotton condition was rated Good-to-Excellent at 52 per cent this week, compared to 51 per cent the previous week and 45 per cent during the same week last year. Boll setting was reported at 14 per cent, compared to 9 per cent the previous week, 18 per cent in the same week last year, and 15 per cent for the five-year average.

ICE cotton for December 2025 settled at 67.98 cents per pound (up 0.09 cent); cash cotton at 65.54 cents (down 0.27 cent); the July 2025 contract at 65.39 cents (down 0.27 cent); the October 2025 contract at 67 cents (up 0.21 cent); the March 2026 contract at 69.37 cents per pound (up 0.11 cent); and the May 2026 contract at 70.42 cents (up 0.12 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels, with no trading recorded today.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)