Cotton QuickTake September 21, 2026

Cotton remained under pressure last week, with December futures falling nearly five cents to settle at 81.15 cents per pound. A stronger U.S. dollar, weakness across commodities, and additional technical selling all contributed to another difficult week for the market. 

AI-assisted narration and summarization based on original reporting and data from PCCA.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Cotton Quick Take by PCCA, your short weekly update on the factors shaping cotton markets and the broader agricultural economy. Thanks for joining us. Let's take a quick look at what's moving the market this week. Cotton remained under pressure last week, with December futures falling nearly five cents to settle at 81.15 cents per pound. A stronger US dollar, weakness across commodities, and additional technical selling all contributed to another difficult week for the market. Now attention is shifting from the Federal Reserve to China. President Trump and President Z are scheduled to meet on Thursday, and agriculture is expected to be part of the conversation. For cotton, the key question is whether those talks lead to additional U.S. agricultural purchases, improved market access, or progress on tariffs. China has already increased U.S. soybean purchases ahead of the meeting, but cotton will need stronger demand of its own to regain some momentum. PCCA chief economist Abigail Holster said even though the market is reacting positively to headlines, a strong day-to-day doesn't mean it has worked through everything yet.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

I think this is a really important week for cotton, especially given how rough last week was. We're getting a bounce to start this week, and I think a lot of that stems from optimism surrounding the US-China meeting set to take place at the end of this week. There was encouraging conversations over the weekend, and agriculture was mentioned multiple times. That's all good news. However, we need more than just good headlines right now. We need to see actual demand come from what these headlines are showing. I am, however, still encouraged by the longer-term price outlook. However, a strong day to day does not mean that the market has necessarily worked through everything yet. We had a strong run in August, and then we also had a sharp sell-off last week. And so I think the market has a few more things to sort through before we see that longer-term price outlook come to fruition. There is good news, however, where the U.S. crop size is concerned. Harvest in South Texas has been ongoing and quality is held up fairly well. Meanwhile, harvest in West Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas has just started. So we should start to get a clearer picture on what the actual crop size should be in the United States rather than just estimating it. Add in a smaller crop size, which we all suspect, and then something more concrete where demand is concerned. And I think the longer-term price outlook gets to be a lot more interesting.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

So far, demand has been slow to pick up. Upland sales totaled 71,200 bales last week, while 142,100 bales were exported. With cotton prices now considerably below where they were just a few weeks ago, the market will be watching to see if buyers begin taking advantage of lower prices.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

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SPEAKER_00 2:52

Meanwhile, harvest is getting closer across West Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Results from the Southwest should begin providing a clearer picture of yields and abandonment following a hot and dry summer, while a wetter October outlook could introduce new quality concerns as harvest progresses. So, this week, the focus is squarely on demand and whether U.S.-China discussions can give the cotton market a new reason to move. Thanks for listening to Cotton Quick Take by PCCA. Be sure to join us next week for another quick update on the markets and the stories shaping the cotton industry.