COTTON -- Daily Commentary -- September 3

Cotton futures closed modestly lower in the most active December and March contracts, but were higher in other months. December slipped 4 points to end at 89.45 cents and March lost 7 points to settle at 87.88 cents. The market bounced back and forth quite a bit today, trading lower overnight, pushing to a fresh high this morning, then falling 136 points to the session low in a matter of minutes. Prices climbed back into positive territory over the next two hours, but pulled back ahead of the close. Profit-taking ahead of the three-day holiday weekend contributed to the erratic activity. The trade seems to be uncertain as to whether or not cotton can continue to move higher, or if it is overbought and will move lower in the upcoming weeks. Fresh estimates from a private analysis firm pegged the U.S. crop at 18.82 million bales, up from USDA's latest estimate of 18.53 million.