Cotton futures drop on rising dollar, decline in export sales

Cotton futures fell on Friday on pressure from sharp gains in the US dollar, a lack of clarity over China's potential plans to reduce its massive cotton stockpile, and data showing a drop in US export sales. "What's pressuring it is the dollar and the uncertainty," said Peter Egli, director of risk management at British merchant Plexus cotton.

March cotton on ICE Futures US settled down 0.23 cent, or 0.37 percent, at 61.13 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 60.76 and 61.89. US export sales totalled 128,300 bales last week, down 34 percent from the prior week, according to US government data released Friday morning. The March contract fell 2.1 percent this week and 3.5 percent for January.

Total futures market volume rose by 5,660 to 35,757 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 1,130 to 195,709 contracts in the previous session. Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of January 28 totalled 28,706 480-lb bales, down from 32,037 in the previous session. The dollar index was up 1.04 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was up 0.93 percent.