Will Cotton Continue Edging Up?

 | Jan 12, 2016 08:22AM ET

Awaiting USDA report

On Tuesday, January 12, at 18:15 СЕТ the USDA will publish the forecast of cotton production volume and stockpiles at the end of 2015/16 season. Now the cotton price is hovering around the 6-year low since late August. Meanwhile, Pakistan expects its production to contract by 0.5mln bales of 480 pounds this season to 7.5mln bales which is the lowest since 1999. Pakistan ranks 4th among cotton producers and is one of its major importers with advanced light industry. Will cotton continue edging up?

Besides the expected crops fall in Pakistan, some other factors may determine the cotton prices as well. By the start of the last year, the global cotton prices fell by around 40% since 2014 to 8.56mln acres. For this reason, the cotton crop acres in the US fell to the 30-year low in 2015. Markets expect this year it may increase by 13% to 9.7mln acres while the estimate vary from 9 to 11mln acres. In our opinion, the official USDA outlook for the crop acres may influence the cotton prices. Another significant indicator is the outlook for the global cotton stockpiles in 2015/16. The reading is expected to exceed 100mln bales.