US cotton futures slip as export sales drop sharply

Mumbai – With the USDA reporting a sharp drop in export sales last week, cotton contract for July delivery lost 1.8% to settle at US cents 77.96 per pound on the ICE Futures exchange.

The report showed net export sales of upland cotton, commonly grown variety in the US, totaled 115,500 running bales in the week ended 20 April, down 49% from the prior week. South Korea, Japan and China reported lower imports.

Experts term this as weakest sales since the third week of September and with just three months left for the current marketing years, export sales tend to wind down as most mills are done with cotton buying.

The total committed export sales year till date have already exceeded the target for this marketing year.

Cotton exports to China, one of the largest importers, already showed signs of slowing down in March with imports falling 12.4% on the month to 121,000 tons, though imports had increased 78% in the first-quarter.