Cotton Association of India - Cotton futures settled on triple-digit gains in 2017-18 marketing year contracts Thursday, with spot March leading the way to finish on a contract high close. March gained 114 points to settle at 79.25 cents, near the high of its 133-point range from down five points at 78.06 to up 128 points at 79.39 cents. It got within six ticks of its contract high set last Thursday.
The USDA last month raised its 2017-18 export forecast 300,000 480-pound bales to 14.8 million, third highest on record behind 14.92 million last season and 17.67 million in 2005-06. An updated estimate will be part of next week's supply-demand report.
On the textile front, foam-based technology developed at Texas Tech University is reported to have the potential to change the way jeans are made through a more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly denim-dyeing process.
Fabric mills around the world use millions of gallons of water to dye denim the deep blue color consumers want. Using foam, a team at the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute has developed a process to successfully apply indigo dye to cotton yarns in a way described as more efficient.
"This is one of a kind," Dean Ethridge, a research professor who is leading the effort, said in a Tech report.