Cotton Futures Close Higher Friday but Post Weekly Loss; Speculators Cut Net Longs

Cotton futures settled steady to 112 points higher across the board on Friday, October 2, 2026, though December cotton remained down 383 points for the week, according to Barchart. October cotton closed at 75.15 cents/lb, December at 78.88 cents/lb and March at 81.54 cents/lb, each up 112 points except March, which gained 93 points. Crude oil fell $1.61 per barrel, and the U.S. dollar index declined $0.203. The CFTC commitment of traders report showed speculative traders trimmed their net long position by 7,017 contracts in the week ending September 29, reducing it to 74,593 contracts. USDA data put all cotton export commitments at 4.937 million running bales, up 17% year over year but representing 43% of the USDA export projection, behind the 51% average pace. The Cotlook A index fell 30 points to 89.15. ICE certified cotton stocks were unchanged at 28,017 bales on October 1, and the Adjusted World Price dropped 93 points to 65.16 cents/lb.