Cotton season ends on a high note
Cotton industry information resource Cotlook has said the price per pound of cotton on its A Index ended the 2020-2021 marketing year (concluding on July 31) at more than $1. The price at the end of July was 100.25 cents. At the start of the 2020-2021 marketing year, the price per pound on the Cotlook A Index was 69.55 cents.
In the course of the recently ended marketing year, then, the price rose by 44%.
Liverpool-based Cotlook said that, historically, such a high price has been a rare occurrence and that this was the first time its A Index had gone above the dollar mark since June 2018.
It said there was evidence in the market of underlying demand during July, despite rising asking rates, and that mills in many countries remained “in need of cover” for the northern hemisphere’s summer months.
In addition, it said freight issues continued to “blight deliveries” and many international merchants appeared to have little cotton to ship ahead of the arrival of new crops in the northern hemisphere. “Even the Brazilian crop, usually relied upon to bridge the gap between seasons, is well committed both from origin and (for earlier shipments) from trade holdings,” Cotlook said.
