ICE cotton futures rose slightly yesterday, buoyed by a weaker US dollar. A declining dollar makes US cotton more affordable for international buyers. Although US cotton export sales were lackluster in the latest reporting week, the weaker dollar helped push ICE cotton futures prices to a three-month high on Thursday.
The ICE cotton July 2025 contract closed at 69.17 cents per pound (0.453 kg), an increase of 0.14 cent from the previous day. Over the last three sessions, this contract has gained a total of 235 points. The December contract finished at 70.37 cents, up 0.40 cent for the day, resulting in a cumulative gain of 207 points during the same timeframe. Other contracts saw gains of up to 38 points or losses of up to 21 points.
Total trading volume reached 47,440 contracts, compared to 73,307 contracts cleared the day before, reflecting ongoing active market participation. According to ICE data, deliverable No. 2 cotton stocks remained unchanged as of April 23, holding steady at 14,478 bales.
The USDA’s weekly export sales report for the week ending April 17 indicated that net sales for the current marketing year totaled 104,000 bales—down 49% from the previous week and 22% below the average of the last four weeks. Notably, net sales to mainland China declined by 5,300 tons, suggesting a reduced demand from a significant buyer.
Market support was attributed to the weaker US dollar, making cotton more appealing to foreign buyers with different currencies. Market analysts noted that despite the disappointing export figures, the market remains resilient due to dollar weakness and previous technical strength.
Currently, ICE cotton futures for July 2025 are trading at 69.67 cents per pound (up 0.40 cent), cash cotton is priced at 67.42 cents (up 0.14 cent), the May 2025 contract is at 67.30 cents (down 1.45 cent), the October 2025 contract is at 70.71 cents (up 0.32 cent), the December 2025 contract is at 70.68 cents (up 0.31 cent), and the March 2026 contract is at 71.71 cents per pound (up 0.29 cent). A few contracts remained unchanged from the previous close, with no trades reported today.
