Cotton Comments, Vol 7. Weakens Market Click here to view the Acrobat version of this publication. The July USDA report was in line with expectations of a 19 million bale crop or more. With domestic and export use expected to fall short of the big crop, supplies should be fully adequate.
Foreign demand remains strong and their supplies are declining sharply.
The USDA acreage report at the end of June was neutral to slightly friendly to the cotton market. The report placed all cotton planted acreage at 15.55 million acres, marginally less than the March intentions. Yet, acreage is up 5 percent from last year, and carryover stocks are expected to increase substantially from 4.1 million this season to around 5.0 million bales. Although demand is strong, supply, based on crop conditions, will be a major influence on the market this harvest season. The USDA estimate of a 19.3 million bale crop is up from 17.0 million last year and 13.9 million two years ago.