Spot cotton prices in the United States rose to their highest levels since June 14, 2018, averaging 88.35 cents per pound for the week ending August 12, 2021, according to the latest US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data. The weekly average rose from 86.31 cents the week before and 57.62 cents a year ago. According to Cotton Incorporated’s monthly update, most benchmark cotton prices climbed last month, with the value of the December NY/ICE futures contract ranging between 88 cents and 90 cents per pound. Cotton Inc reported that futures reached values of above 93 cents per pound in early August. For the first time since June 2018, the A Index surpassed $1.00 per pound. The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has raised its season-average A index price estimate for 2021-22, which now ranges from 73 cents to $1.25 per pound, with a mean of 95.43 cents per pound.
USDA’s worldwide trade projection was also raised from 335,000 to 46.3 million bales. According to the Cotton Inc study, this would put the organization in third place in terms of trade volume, behind only 2012-13 and 2020-21. The robustness of U.S. export shipments over the previous 12 months, despite the global Covid-19 epidemic, was emphasized in the final set of weekly U.S. export sales and shipping statistics for the 2020-21 crop year just issued by USDA, according to the Cotton Inc. report. Despite the fact that shipments slowed at the conclusion of the crop year, overall US exports in 2020-21 were the second highest on record, after only the 17.7 million bales sent in 2005-06.
