Cotton futures held steady on Friday, with March contracts up 25 points for the week. Crude oil futures rose by 11 cents per barrel to $59.30. The US dollar index increased by $0.063 to $99.195. Markets will close on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and reopen in the evening.

CFTC’s Commitment of Traders report showed managed money increasing their net short in cotton futures and options by 2,600 contracts to 50,372 contracts as of Tuesday.

Export Sales data revealed cotton export commitments at 6.937 million RB, down 14% from last year. This represents 60% of the USDA projection for exports, falling behind the 79% average sales pace. Exports are 3.142 million RB, 27% of USDA’s estimate and below the 32% average shipping pace.

The January 15 online auction from The Seam reported sales of 59.12 cents/lb on 11,430 bales. The Cotlook A Index remained steady at 75.05 cents. ICE certified cotton stocks held steady at 11,029 bales. The Adjusted World Price increased to 51.17 cents/lb on Thursday, up 20 points from the previous week.

Mar 26 Cotton closed at 64.66, down 5 points. May 26 Cotton closed at 66.23, down 4 points. Jul 26 Cotton closed at 67.65, down 4 points.

Disclosure: Austin Schroeder did not hold any positions in the securities mentioned. Information in this article is for informational purposes only. Source: Barchart.com.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Cotton Slips Lower on Friday