ICE cotton futures hit six-week high on lower US planting outlook

Yesterday, the ICE cotton May 2025 contract settled at 68.25 cents per pound (0.453 kg), up 1.42 cents. During the session, the contract touched an intraday high of 68.32 cents—the highest level since February 19. The December 2025 contract also gained 89 points to settle at 70.81 cents. Other contracts showed a mixed trend, with some settling lower by 15 points and others gaining up to 119 points.

Trading volume was high, with 82,379 contracts traded on April 1 and 60,602 contracts on March 31—both considered heavy trading days for cotton. ICE deliverable stocks of No. 2 cotton remained unchanged at 14,488 bales as of March 31.

Market analysts attributed the market's rise to a delayed positive reaction to the USDA planting intentions report. The report, released on March 31, estimated 2025 US cotton planting at 9.867 million acres—a 12 per cent drop from 2024 and below market expectations of 10.189 million acres.

CBOT agricultural futures also closed higher, with traders focusing on the outlook for US biomass diesel policy, while digesting the USDA reports and awaiting further details on US tariff policy.

ICE cotton for May 2025 is trading at 68.25 cents per pound (unchanged), cash cotton at 65.75 cents (up 1.42 cents), the July 2025 contract at 69.07 cents (down 0.11 cents), the October 2025 contract at 70.84 cents (up 1.00 cent), the December 2025 contract at 70.67 cents (down 0.14 cents), and the March 2026 contract at 71.75 cents per pound (down 0.19 cents). A few contracts remain at the same level as the previous close, with no trading recorded today.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)