NEW YORK, June 11: Cotton futures settled firmer on Friday as switch trade was again the dominant factor in the market due to investors transfering positions out of spot July two weeks before the start of its delivery period, traders said. The New York Board of Trade’s July contract climbed 0.67 cent to finish at 46.96 cents a lb, dealing from 46.30 to 47.15 cents. New-crop December rose 0.56 to 51.27 cents. Distant months gained 0.25 to 0.65 cent.

It’s mostly switches, said Mike Stevens of brokers SFS Futures in Mandeville, Louisiana. He added that the news crop December cotton contract continued to draw solid support and is holding firmly above 50 cents.

On switch trade, open interest in the July contract slid 3,321 lots to 45,413 contracts as of June 9 while interest in the December contract rose 2,558 to 43,287 lots.

Dealers said the market largely gave short shrift to the monthly supply/demand report by the US Department of Agriculture.

Stevens said the rains from the storm may even be beneficial for cotton since it is early in the season and any winds will not hit plants that are still in or close to the ground.—Reuters