Global cotton benchmarks fluctuate over past month: Cotton Inc

Global cotton benchmarks moved higher and then lower over the past month. Current values for most prices are near those posted one month ago, Cotton Incorporated said in its Cotton Market Fundamentals & Price Outlook - September 2023.

The NY/ICE December contract has been testing the upper end of the range that has contained values since November 2022. Over the past month, values briefly climbed above 90 cents/lb level (on September 1) but retreated in more recent trading. The latest values are near the level one month ago.

Around the time NY/ICE futures touched values over 90 cents/lb, the A Index climbed over $1 for the first time since February. More recently, the A Index has been 96 cents/lb.

Chinese prices (China Cotton Index or CC 3128B) traded between 111 and 115 cents/lb over the past month. In domestic terms, values were generally between 18,000 and 18,500 RMB/ton. The RMB was mostly stable against the dollar, holding near 7.30 RMB/USD.

Indian spot prices (Shankar-6 quality) traded between 92 and 96 cents/lb. In domestic terms, prices were between₹60,000 and₹62,500 per candy. The INR was steady against the dollar over the past month, near₹83 per USD.

Pakistani prices increased in the second half of August and into September, rising from 75 to 83 cents/lb. More recently, prices moved lower, with current values near 75 cents/lb. In domestic terms, prices ranged between 18,000 to 20,800 PKR/maund. The PKR weakened against the dollar, from less than 290 PKR/USD in early August to more than 300 PKR/USD recently.