Cotton hits another low in last two weeks

ITALIAN TEXTILE MACHINERY : ORDERS INTAKE STILL ON DOWNTURN IN FOURTH QUARTER 2020

The index of orders intake for Italian textile machinery compiled by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, for the period from OctoberDecember 2020 was down by 5% compared to the same period in 2019. The index value remained at 90.0 points (2015 basis = 100). The negative performing trend both abroad and in Italy has weighed on the overall result. On foreign markets, orders intake recorded a 5% decline, while the domestic market recorded a decline of 6% on the fourth quarter of 2019. On an annual basis, the total index declined by 26% compared to 2019. This result is primarily due to a marked downsizing in orders intake for the first half of the year, which was not entirely balanced by the progressive recovery in the last two quarters of 2020. The decrease amounted to 25% abroad and 30% on the domestic side. ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi commented that "Severe travel restrictions along with the cancellation of most trade fairs, as evident consequences of the pandemic, have heavily influenced business operations, already compromised by a general slowdown in investments in the textile sector." Zucchi added that "A deep sense of uncertainty also affects 2021, with no signs of a recovery in this first half of the year. The vaccination campaign has begun slowly, jeopardizing the restoring of safety conditions that would otherwise enable technicians and salesmen to travel. We do expect a partial recovery, but only as of the second half of the year." In the meantime, ITMA 2023 - the world’s foremost textile machinery trade show, scheduled to be held in Milan - was officially launched. Following the success of 2015, Milan is once again ready to host the essential event that features a high level of innovation on show by exhibiting manufacturers. "I won’t hide how proud our Association and indeed all Italian textile machinery manufacturers are to be able to host the event in Italy,” states ACIMIT’s president, “Although still a long way off, ITMA 2023 is a goal towards which our companies are already working, allowing us to speed up the process of continuous innovation that is a hallmark of Italy’s textile machinery industry."

COTTON REPORT

COTTON HITS ANOTHER LOW IN LAST TWO WEEKS

On Thursday, cotton futures dropped to a more than two-week low on speculator sales towards the end of the month and the US Department of Agriculture's mixed export sales survey (USDA). For March, the cotton contract dropped by 0.49 percent, or 0.6 percent, to 80.35 cents per lb by 1:01 p.m. EST (1801 GMT), having previously hit its lowest since Jan. 11. “We are approaching the end of the month and are seeing some profit taking from the speculators. Export numbers were good but not great ... Shipments are more important than sales as once cotton is shipped it never comes back.”- said Keith Brown, principal of Keith Brown and Co cotton brokers in Georgia. The USDA showed in its weekly export sales report that net sales of 322,700 running bales (RB) for 2020/2021 were up 10% from the previous week, while RB 275,300 exports were down 15%. The dollar was down 0.2 percent against main rivals, restricting any decline in cotton prices. Investors were also paying close attention to the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill from the Biden administration, which was facing opposition over the scale of the package by Republicans and some Democrats. Next week, the US Senate and House of Representatives will begin moving forward on President Joe Biden's proposal to bring a fresh injection of relief, top Democrats said, to Americans and businesses suffering from the pandemic. Brown added, "Both markets have priced in to some extent that they would pass a huge stimulus bill, but markets are just beginning to understand that it might not be as high.” Total market volume for futures grew by 14 to 33,765 lots. As of Jan. 27, certified cotton stocks available amounted to 78,197 480lb bales, up from 77,059 in the previous session. Source : https://www.caionline. in/articles/cotton-hits-over-twoweek-low.www.fibre2fashion.com