If you work in the clothing industry it is important to know the price of cotton.
Cotton prices are important to the textile and apparel industries. Not all clothing is made with cotton, but certainly cotton is very often used in the production of garments. Below may help you learn a bit about cotton pricing, cotton futures, cotton options, etc. It is important to note that we link to several resources. The Apparel Search Company does NOT guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of information listed on our websites or the websites that we link to from our websites. If you use our cotton pricing guide, you do so at your own risk. Again, we link to various resources and can we can not guarantee the accuracy of information found.
Cotton Futures : In summary, the term "cotton futures contract" means any contract of sale of cotton for future delivery made at, on, or in any exchange, board of trade, or similar institution or place of business which has been designated a "contract market" by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act [7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.] and the term "contract of sale" as so used shall be held to include sales, agreements of sale, and agreements to sell, except that any cotton futures contract that, by its terms, is settled in cash is excluded from the coverage of this paragraph and section. It is important to note that this is a short summary, and the description of a cotton futures contract may have changed. Please check other resources for a more complete and updated description.
You may want to read the introduction to Cotton Futures from the Cotton Incorporated website.
Cotton Options : A cotton option is a contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset (in this case cotton) at a specific price on or before a certain date. An option, just like a stock or bond, is a security. It is also a binding contract with strictly defined terms and properties.
OK, enough about cotton futures and cotton options. In all honesty, I can not delve too deep into the subject because here at Apparel Search we are garmentos, and not commodity traders. For more details regarding options and futures, we suggest you consult an investment adviser.
Below is some information regarding cotton prices that may help you when negotiating prices for purchasing, cotton, yarn, fabric, and apparel.
Cotton Prices NYBOT (New York Board of Trade)
Daily Cotton Prices (USDA)
Monthy Cotton Prices (National Cotton Council of America) : This section of the National Cotton Council's Economics Data Center provides quick access to their most popular price tables. You can get the most up-to-date monthly prices by choosing a price series in the drop-down box. The column labeled Calendar in the table represents a calendar year average while the Crop column represents the crop-year (August-July) average. Because of the width of these tables, landscape printing works best. The National Cotton Council of America's mission is to ensure the ability of all U.S. cotton industry segments to compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and U.S.-manufactured product markets at home and abroad.
Cotton Price Index (National Cotton Council of America)
Cotton No. 2 Futures (ICE)
Are you familiar with the term "bumper crop"? You may want to learn how a bumper crop can effect cotton prices.
