Traders eyed rains on Plains. Rio Grande Valley gins operated around the clock. Corpus classing reached 52,748 running bales. Acreage abandonment on the High Plains estimated at 20% by PCG advisory group.
Cotton futures settled unchanged to up 28 points across the board Monday, with December finishing narrowly ahead after testing last weekΆs high.
December eked out a six-point gain to close at 68.86 cents, around the lower third of its 111-point range from down 30 points at 68.50 to up 81 points at 69.61 cents. It gained 27 points for the month.
March closed up two ticks to 68.25 cents, trading within a 112-point range from 67.87 to 68.99 cents. October gained the most, finishing at 70.50 cents.
Traders were keeping an eye on weather developments in the West Texas Plains where some heavy rains fell overnight in parts of the Lubbock area and more was on the way. Rainfall at Lubbock totaled 1.07 inches in the 24-hour period ended at 8 a.m. CDT, while Lamesa in dryland territory to the south hadnΆt received any rain.
Volume increased to an estimated 20,782 lots from 10,485 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 2,870 lots or 27%. Options volume totaled 4,103 lots — 881 calls and 3,223 puts.
Most gins in the Texas Rio Grande Valley operated around the clock as modules accumulated on gin yards last week, USDAΆs Agricultural Marketing Service reported in a weekly cotton review.
The Corpus Christi classing office graded 36,014 running bales during the week ended Thursday to bring the seasonΆs total to 52,748 RB. Tenderable cotton accounted for 91.6% for the week and 89% for the season.
Intermittent showers briefly slowed harvesting. Gins were operating elsewhere in South Texas and submitting samples to the Corpus facility for grading services.
In Central Texas, timely and abundant rainfall had advanced the crop to full-canopy covering the rows. Some areas received up to 2 inches of rain early in the reporting period. Fields bloomed.
Industry people are encouraged with a yield that is expected to be more than 800 pounds per acre. The crop is dryland with a potential for two or more bales per acre. Monitoring continued for plant pests, including stinkbugs.
The crop in the West Texas Plains advanced under hot, muggy conditions. Some areas got rain. More is needed as fields begin to bloom and water demand increases. Generally, the area is considered 60% dryland and 40% irrigated at this time.
Abandonment estimates from early season hail and wind damage on the High Plains remain at about 20% across the 41-county area served by the Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers, Inc., based on discussion at the PCGΆs advisory group meeting Friday.
This was reported by Mary Jane Buerkle, director of communications and public affairs, in the PCGΆs weekly newsletter. Conditions range from poor to excellent, she said, noting that some later-planted cotton has struggled. In some locations, however, growers applied growth regulators on fields green and lush with lots of blooms and good potential, she added.
If applied to the two USDA crop reporting districts making up the High Plains, the advisory group estimate would mean a loss of 810,000 acres from the areaΆs 4.055 million planted acres as reported in June. An additional 1.205 million acres were planted in cotton in the adjoining Rolling Plains.
Futures open interest dipped 430 lots to 155,962 on Friday, with DecemberΆs down 384 lots to 155,962 and MarchΆs down 103 lots to 41,970. Certified stocks declined 3,368 bales to 31,470.
