October 21, 2001	Sunday	Shaba'an 3, 1422

NEW YORK, Oct 20: NY cotton futures finished at another 15-year trough on Friday as all-around sales drove the market down to new lows, with bearish fundamentals seen inflicting more pain on fiber prices.

Nobody wants to buy (cotton), Jobe Moss of brokers and merchants MCM Inc. in Lubbock, Texas said. It doesn’t take much to push it.

December cotton sank 0.63 cent to close at 30.55 cents a lb, trading from 31.39 to a new lifetime low of 30.51 cents.

March slid to a fresh contract nadir of 32.50 cents before finishing 0.56 cent easier at 32.54 cents.

Back months, several of which likewise posted lifetime lows, declined 0.25 to 0.60 cent.

Mike Stevens of Swiss Financial Services in Mandeville, Louisiana said locals sold the opening but covered fairly quickly in early dealings.

He said the market appeared to be attracting some light fixation buying, plus spec and local shortcovering into moderate scale-up trade selling.

But locals wound up too long and sold futures to cool the advance somewhat and drive the market into negative territory, the dealers said. The selling picked up steam when the market hit stops in its move south.

Traders said cotton’s pathetic fundamental picture of ever softening demand, bumper supplies, and the recessionary impact of the Sept. 11, attacks in New York and outside Washington still makes it virtually impossible for cotton to mount a sustained recovery, much less a rally.

There’s not any good news out there, declared Moss, adding cotton prices will likely sink below the 29.50 cents hit by the then front October contract a few weeks ago.

A fall to 29.50 cents would equal the 1986 low and another decline would bring cotton prices down to near 30-year lows.

Technicians said support for the December cotton contract is now at the psychological target of 30 cents, 29.50 and then 27.80 cents.

Resistance in the contract was seen at 32 and 32.50 cents.

Floor dealers estimated final volume traded at some 3,500 lots, compared with the previous tally of 4,392 lots.—Reuters