Brazilian cotton prices stable as trading slows in March

The trading pace was slow in the Brazilian cotton market in March. The CEPEA/ESALQ cotton Index, with payment in 8 days, remained stable (+0.1 per cent) between February 28 and March 29, closing at 2.9346 BRL per pound on March 29. The average price for the month, at 2.9262 BRL per pound, was a slight 0.27 per cent lower than that from February 2019.

“Some processing plants had low interest in new purchases in the spot market, while others stayed away from the market. The active processing plants were searching for high quality cotton, but bidding prices were lower than asking prices for this kind of cotton,” the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) said in its latest report on Brazilian cotton market.

Brazilian cotton growers have already sold a large volume of the 2017-18 crop. On the other hand, some traders needed cotton to accomplish contracts or replenish inventories. In this scenario, only a few deals for prompt delivery were closed, showing an occasional flexibility of purchasers regarding quality and/or of sellers concerning prices, mainly for lower quality cotton, the report said.