ICE cotton futures fell after reaching a near one-week peak on Tuesday. The US cotton market faced downward pressure as a stronger dollar made purchasing more expensive for foreign buyers. Nevertheless, an increase in crude oil prices helped mitigate losses in cotton trading, as higher oil costs raise the price of polyester fiber, a synthetic alternative to cotton.
The most active December 2025 contract on ICE closed at 67.55 cents per pound (0.453 kg), down by 0.47 cent. This contract had hit its highest point since June 10 during Monday’s trading session. The July 2025 contract finished at 65.05 cents, down by 0.39 cent. Overall, cotton prices remained within a nearly five-week lateral trading range, closing down by 10 to 47 points across different contracts.
The trading volume for the day reached 44,411 contracts, compared to 50,092 contracts traded the day before.
The strengthening of the US dollar against major currencies increased the cost of dollar-priced cotton for buyers using other currencies, which negatively impacted demand.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices climbed due to ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, providing a buffer for cotton prices since the rising cost of producing polyesterโa cotton substituteโalso increased.
Market analysts observed that while Monday’s trading saw a slight uptick, the dollar’s strength acted as a headwind, while the rising crude prices provided some support.
Despite the conflict between Israel and Iran, there has been no significant disruption to oil and gas infrastructure or supply flows thus far. However, elevated crude prices have increased polyester production costs, indirectly benefiting cotton prices.
The USDA is expected to publish its annual planted acreage report on June 30.
Currently, ICE cotton prices for July 2025 are at 65.20 cents per pound (up by 0.15 cent), cash cotton at 64.88 cents (down by 0.17 cent), October 2025 at 65.98 cents (down by 0.15 cent), December 2025 at 67.74 cents (up by 0.19 cent), March 2026 at 68.91 cents (up by 0.17 cent), and May 2026 at 69.99 cents (up by 0.21 cent). A few contracts remained unchanged from their previous closing prices, with no trading activity reported today.
