ICE cotton range bound amid light trade, weak sentiment

ICE’s most active December 2025 contract settled at 68.24 cents per pound (0.453 kg), down 0.01 cent. The market saw the lightest trading volume so far in 2025, highlighting a dull summer session with limited movement. Other contracts settled between 6 points higher and 36 points lower, indicating mixed trends across the board.

Crude oil futures on NYMEX remained largely unchanged as investors monitored trade negotiations between the European Union and the United States, following President Donald Trump’s tariff agreement with Japan. Falling oil prices have made polyester—a cotton substitute—more affordable for producers, which could exert further pressure on cotton demand.

Market analysts noted that cotton prices remained virtually unchanged from the previous session amid very light volumes. On ICE, 18,619 contracts were traded—just above the 18,138 contracts recorded on New Year's Eve 2025—making it one of the lowest-volume days of the year. Cleared volume for the July 22 session stood at 25,100 contracts. The all-time high volume of 171,295 contracts was recorded on April 4, 2025—a record day for ICE cotton futures.

According to ICE data released on July 22, deliverable stock for No. 2 cotton futures contracts remained unchanged at 22,337 bales (packages).

CBOT corn futures extended their decline for a third consecutive day due to spread trading activity and expectations of a bumper harvest in the United States—factors that continued to weigh on cotton prices.

The market remains watchful of the implications of ongoing trade agreement announcements, though no specific impact on cotton has been observed so far. This cautious trend may persist until clearer guidance emerges regarding US cotton imports by partner countries.

Currently, ICE cotton for December 2025 is trading at 68.41 cents per pound (up 0.17 cent), cash cotton at 65.37 cents (up 0.03 cent), the October 2025 contract at 66.62 cents (up 0.03 cent), the March 2026 contract at 69.78 cents (up 0.15 cent), the May 2026 contract at 70.86 cents (up 0.13 cent) and the July 2026 contract at 71.59 cents (up 0.09 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels, with no trading recorded today.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)