Cotton futures experienced another round of technical buying on Tuesday to help lift prices away from their recent contract lows. March cotton traded 40 points higher on Tuesday to close at 64 cents a pound. The contract experienced higher gains earlier in the session but, which was likely limited by lighter holiday trade.

Overall, trading has been fairly quiet over the past month amid limited activity at current price levels. Speculators have been covering short positions, but prices continue to be bogged down by heavy commercial selling. The market has been unable to break free of its downtrend, as the charts have been riddled with lower highs and lower lows for most of this year.

The USDA released another round of catch-up data for the weekly export sales report. Cotton sales totaled 319,700 bales during the week ending Dec. 11. Volumes were the second-highest for the marketing year as international buyers stepped in with purchases as futures were near contract lows.

Total exports and commitments remained at the slowest pace since the 2015/16 season amid slowing international demand. The USDA is still a few reports behind following the government shutdown, but up-to-date data will likely show a lackluster export demand picture.

—
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.