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Published
Mar 22, 2016
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ICE cotton makes biggest single-session gains in a week

By
Reuters
Published
Mar 22, 2016

Cotton futures rose on Monday to their highest single-session gain in a week as investors covered bearish bets, stemming losses in the previous session spurred by news surrounding the release of massive Chinese stockpiles.


Speculators boosted their net short position in cotton by 3,952 lots to 40,488 lots, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data, as prices touched fresh 2009 lows. That was the largest net short position in fiber since records dating back to 2006.

"There was some nervousness on part of the shorts to take some profits and cover those up," said Louis Rose, independent cotton trader and consultant with Risk Analytics in Memphis, Tennessee.

China's government may begin selling its bulging state cotton reserves starting from the middle of April, with a priority to offer good quality cotton, including imported fiber, a government official said last week.

However, the markets did not get enough clarity from China "to decide which direction it (the sale) is going," Rose said.


 

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