Cotton futures post biggest weekly loss in 5 months
April 5 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures eased on Friday, marking its biggest weekly loss in five months as speculators exited long positions and higher U.S. dollar weighed on the natural fiber.
* Cotton contract for May CTc1 fell 0.74 cent, or 0.85%, at 86.4 cents per lb by 13:23 p.m. ET (1723 GMT),its biggest weekly loss since the week of Nov. 3.
* The dollar rose 0.2%, making cotton less attractive, especially for overseas buyers. USD/
* "Speculators had gotten into a really large long position, plus the sentiment was heavily on the bullish side for cotton and it looks like these traders are exiting the market and selling futures," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage, in Cleveland.
* Speculators cut net long position by 5,301 contracts to 58,373 contracts in ICE U.S. cotton futures in the week of March 26.CFTC/
* "There is a chance for some rain in West Texas next week and I think that has got a little pressure on it," Varner added.
* Certified cotton stocks, which can be delivered against the contract, were at 93,324 bales compared with 67,576 bales on April 1, according to ICE data.
* "ICE cotton had lost its attractiveness alongside May/July inversion. Certificate stocks are now near 100k bales, and the May/July spread is back in full carry," said Valentin Olah, risk management consultant at StoneX Group.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report on Thursday showed net sales of 84,900 running bales for 2023/2024, down 14% from the previous week but up 4% from the prior 4-week average.EXP/COT
Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar
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