ICE cotton falls on stronger dollar, weak oil prices & tariff worries

ICE’s most active December 2025 contract settled at 68.23 cents per pound (0.453 kg), down 0.48 cent. The market touched an intraday high of 68.83 cents. The December contract fell 0.8 per cent over the week. Other contracts closed 22 to 48 points lower, with weekly declines ranging from 11 to 169 points across various contracts.

The US dollar strengthened on the back of solid economic data, fuelling expectations that the Federal Reserve may delay interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, progress in tariff negotiations helped ease some market uncertainty. Crude oil prices declined sharply, with NYMEX crude closing at a four-week low and Brent at a three-week low, pressured by weak economic signals and signs of increased supply. Cotton fundamentals also remain unfavourable.

Futures volume stood at 24,104 contracts—marking the fifth-lowest daily trading volume in 2025. Combined volume (futures and options) totalled 25,814 contracts, the third-lowest of the year. The weekly average volume was 25,688 contracts per day for futures and 29,258 contracts per day for combined futures and options. Deliverable stock for the ICE No. 2 cotton contract was reported at 21,617 bales on July 24, slightly down from 21,635 bales the previous day.

Buyers remained unmotivated by ongoing tariff tensions, geopolitical conflicts, seasonal demand weakness, and declining consumption. Prices stayed confined to the 68-cent range. The December contract low was 64.70 cents, while the May 2025 contract touched a five-year low of 60.80 cents.

ICE cotton for December 2025 is trading at 68.23 cents per pound (down 0.48 cent), cash cotton at 65.76 cents (down 0.33 cent), the October 2025 contract at 67.01 cents (down 0.33 cent), the March 2026 contract at 69.65 cents (down 0.48 cent), the May 2026 contract at 70.71 cents (down 0.48 cent) and the July 2026 contract at 71.46 cents (down 0.45 cent).

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)