COTTON futures moved 43 points higher on the most active May contract, in a week that ended up being very volatile.
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The May contract achieved a trading range of 751 points for the week and posted a high of US97.35 cents a pound.
Cotton futures started the week on the back foot as the Chinese Government confirmed the Reserve's minimum auction price will be cut by four per cent to 17,250 yuan.
Though widely expected, the lack of physical demand at these futures levels saw the speculators sell the market lower.
Tuesday then posted a limit up move and a 348 points gain for the session, as mills supported the market with fixations and speculator buying increased, when the US ginning number came in 320,000 bales short, of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) last estimated production number.
Like the drop in reserve prices this was widely expect, but none the less buying pressure from the speculator was greater than grower selling pressure.
Wednesday was a big day for the cotton market with an intraday range of 652 points on the May contract or $35 a bale.
The speculators took control of the market with 55,000 contracts changing hands for the session, as stop losses and resting orders were hit in both directions.
Thursday could be considered a busy day for the market but quiet in comparison to the previous days.
The US export data for the week was in line with the weekly sales needed to achieve the USDA's 10.7 million bales export number.
Friday was a quiet day when considering it was the first day of the Rogers Index Roll period as the May contract fast approaches first notice day.
The Australian crop's harvest was delayed for the week, as most of the east coast received widespread rain.
This will be very beneficial for the wider farming communities, but with some crops ready to be harvested, this may affect some of the crop's quality.
n Pedr Harvey is the trading supervisor for Namoi Cotton.
