Once the cotton market realized a squeeze on the July futures contract would not occur, prices crashed as if they were Humpty Dumpty. Open interest has fallen to its lowest point in 30 months.
The past week’s roller coaster ride in July prices was more about end-of-year book balancing and end-of-game bluffs and calls rather than about the supply and demand of cotton, creating a total disconnect between futures price and cash price.
As the bears continue their month-long rule of the cotton market, upgrades and investment in Chinese mills are driving demand for machine-harvested, high grade foreign cotton.
