Spot cotton quotations averaged higher in January than the previous month, according to the USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service’s Cotton Program.  The average spot quotation in the seven designated markets for color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35-36 and 43-49, strength of 27.0-28.9 grams per tex, and uniformity of 81.0-81.9 units was 89.83 cents per pound in January 2012.  The average basis for the base quality at the end of January was 739 points off the ICE March 2012 No. 2 futures contract.  Spot transactions reported in the designated markets for January totaled  197,549 running bales.

Spot cotton quotations for color 41, leaf 4, staple 34, mike 35-36 and 43-49, strength readings of  27.0-28.9 grams per tex, and uniformity of 81.0-81.9 units in the designated spot markets averaged  89.83 cents per pound in January.  Quotations averaged 85.99 cents in December and 144.79 cents in January 2011.  Daily average quotations ranged from a high of 91.94 cents on January 23 to a low of 85.86 cents on January 31.

Prices received by farmers for Upland cotton averaged 87.40 cents per pound in midJanuary, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.  This compares with  88.50 cents for  the entire month of December and  82.10 cents in January last year. These prices include cotton delivered against forward contracts

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Source: USDA.