ICE cotton ticks higher on renewed US-China trade talks

The ICE cotton July 2025 contract settled at 65.99 cents per pound (0.453 kg), up 0.37 cent from the previous day. The contract reached 66.05 cents in intraday trading, the highest level in more than a week. The December 2025 contract settled at 68.35 cents, up 14 points. Other contracts ranged from 3 points higher to 15 points lower.

Despite the modest gains, cotton prices have been range-bound over the past three and a half weeks, fluctuating within a 2-cent band between roughly 64 and 66 cents—signalling a phase of consolidation.

Trading volume surged on June 9, reaching 84,356 contracts, significantly above both the previous session’s cleared volume of 65,004 contracts and the previous week's average daily volume of 55,276 contracts. The increased volume suggests heightened speculative interest or institutional positioning, possibly in anticipation of upcoming fundamental reports from the USDA.

According to market analysts, the cotton market continues to be influenced more by global macroeconomic signals than by direct cotton fundamentals, particularly in the absence of major supply disruptions.

China and the US have resumed high-level trade consultations. The renewal of economic dialogue between the world’s two largest economies is seen as a positive signal for global trade, including textile and cotton trade flows, and has supported speculative sentiment in cotton futures.

Typically, a weaker dollar provides support to US cotton exports by making them more price-competitive internationally. However, the dollar’s stability on June 9 did not materially influence price movements.

The cotton market is now closely watching the upcoming release of the USDA’s monthly WASDE (World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates) report later this week, which will offer fresh insights into global cotton production, consumption, and export forecasts.

Currently, ICE cotton for July 2025 is trading at 65.94 cents per pound (down 0.05 cent), cash cotton at 64.24 cents (up 0.37 cent), the October 2025 contract at 66.90 cents (down 0.54 cent), the December 2025 contract at 68.26 cents (down 0.09 cent), the March 2026 contract at 69.60 cents per pound (down 0.12 cent), and the May 2026 contract at 70.70 cents (down 0.12 cent). A few contracts remained at their previous closing levels, with no trading recorded today.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)