Market Movement from 18th May 2026 to 23rd May 2026.

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• During the week, the market witnessed high volatility. On the first trading day, NY July cotton futures touched a high of 84.10 cents before entering a week-long downtrend, hitting a low of 76.84 cents. Ultimately, NY July closed with a weekly loss of 319 points W/W, while NY December closed with a loss of 258 points W/W. Spread between July to December stay 191 Points December to Premium July.
• U.S. Export Sales Report for the week ending 14-May-2026 remained supportive for cotton market sentiment. For the 2025-26 season, Net Upland Sales were reported at 1,31,792 bales with strong Upland Shipments of 2,89,351 bales, while Net Pima Sales stood at 9,506 bales and Pima Shipments at 9,938 bales, taking total sales for the current season to 1,41,298 bales. For the 2026-27 season, export demand remained impressive with Net Upland Sales of 2,15,962 bales and Net Pima Sales of 7,695 bales, resulting in total forward sales of 2,23,657 bales, indicating continued buying interest for next season cotton.
• U. S. Export Sales for the current crop year were poor, but next year’s sales showed some improvement, with Pakistan emerging as a major buyer for the new crop. Shipments remained better and are still running above the pace required to meet the export target set by the U.S.D.A.
• This week, Gujcot Spot Rate remained under pressure with gradual weakness throughout the week. The market opened on Monday at 66,250 and remained steady on Tuesday at 66,250. On Wednesday, the rate eased slightly to 66,050, followed by a sharper decline on Thursday to 65,400. On Friday, the market slipped further to 65,250, while on Saturday the rate closed at 65,000. Overall, the Indian physical cotton market witnessed weak sentiment during the week due to pressure from declining New York futures and cautious buying from mills, although limited arrivals continued to support the market at lower levels.
• The Indian physical cotton market now appears to have lost its bullish momentum, and with very limited buying interest, the market has entered a downtrend. C.C.I. has reduced cotton prices by ₹700 per candy, but the market is still not responding with fresh buying. At present, mills are carrying full inventories and are not interested in buying aggressively from the market.
• NY futures have lost nearly 9 cents over the last two weeks. However, the Indian physical market has not followed the decline due to continuous support from rupee depreciation. The correction in cotton prices is providing mills an opportunity to cover their requirements at lower levels.
• Indian basis has once again widened amid the decline in NY futures.
• During this week, the Indian basis remained between 4.01 and 9.56.
• This week the USD-INR exchange rate remained highly volatile. The rupee started the week weaker at 96.34 on Monday and further depreciated to 96.53 on Tuesday and 96.82 on Wednesday. However, strong recovery was seen in the latter half of the week, with the exchange rate improving to 96.20 on Thursday and further strengthening to 95.69 on Friday. Overall, the Indian Rupee gained against the U.S. Dollar towards the end of the week after early weakness.
• Let’s hope for the best.