ICE cotton futures slide for third straight week, weighed down by coronavirus concerns

Foreign news on March 27, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) cotton futures closed lower on Friday, declining for the third consecutive week, suppressed by the global economic downturn caused by the new crown epidemic.
ICE May cotton futures closed down 1.45 cents, or 2.8%, with a settlement price of 51.33 cents per pound, and the intraday trading range was 51.15-53.32 cents. The contract fell 3.4% this week.
Barry Bean, a cotton buyer in Gideon, Missouri, said: “Cotton prices continue to fall due to continued instability in financial markets and demand being disrupted by the COVID-19 virus.”
“Indian spot market and port closures News and long-term economic losses have exacerbated the decline.”
The WHO’s daily epidemic report shows that globally, the number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia increased by 46,484 from the previous day to 509,164; the number of deaths increased from the previous day The number of cases increased by 2,501 daily, reaching 23,335; causing most economic activities worldwide to stop.
India, Asia’s third-largest economy, has imposed a nationwide lockdown since Wednesday to combat the coronavirus and control its spread.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $2 trillion fiscal stimulus plan on Friday to prevent the U.S. economy from falling into a severe recession due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. This is the largest aid plan in U.S. history.
Elsewhere, global stock markets fell on Friday after a historic three days of gains, with markets expected to remain volatile as the coronavirus outbreak has essentially brought a complete halt to global economic activity.
The total trading volume of the futures market increased by 5,230 lots to 28,372 lots. Data showed that open interest decreased by 573 lots to 192,616 lots on the previous trading day.
As of March 26, ICE’s deliverable No. 2 cotton futures contract inventory was flat at 28,446 bales. </p