Cotton futures continued to extended gains and traded firm at Rs 20,240 per bale on December 14. Last week, it had gained nearly a percent to settle at Rs 20,050 per bale on the MCX.
The bullish WASDE report has lifted sentiments in Cotton last week and it surged above Rs 20,300 levels on Friday. However, following some profit-taking in ICE Cotton futures after a steep hike from the last couple of sessions kept domestic cotton futures under some pressure in the last session of last week.
The USDA has revised US Cotton stock estimates in December to 5.7 million bales of 480 lbs against 7.2 million bales estimated last month.
Cotton arrival across the country in the first 10 days of December has reached near three lakh tons, up by 50 percent from last month but still 25 percent lower than last year.
In the futures market, cotton for December delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 20,280 and an intraday low of Rs 20,130 per bale on the MCX. So far in the current series, the commodity has touched a low of Rs 16,350 and a high of Rs 20,670.
Cotton futures for December delivery gained Rs 190, or 0.95 percent, to Rs 20,240 per bale at 15:23 hours IST on a business turnover of 2,374 lots. The same for January contract jumped Rs 180, or 0.89 percent at Rs 20,500 per bale with a business volume of 697 lots.
The value of December and January’s contracts traded so far is Rs 23.66 crore and Rs 10.60 crore, respectively.
Mohit Vyas, Analyst at Kotak Securities said, "Good weekly export figures from US, steady recovery in crude oil and vaccine optimism will keep Cotton on a strong note in near future."
At 09:56 (GMT), US Cotton futures rose 0.81 percent quoting at 74.68 cents/pound on Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Source:-moneycontrol.com