CIJENE PAMUKA NA BURZI U NEW YORKU

U.S. pamuk prodaja na tržištu - 13. siječnja 1998. _________________________________________________________________ Ukupna prodaja na 7 tržišta u SAD-u 29,760 ( 7,943 prijašnji dan) Prosiječna cijena 1-1/16 inch cotton 62,01 centi (62,13 prijašnji dan) _________________________________________________________________ NEW YORK - pamuk zatvaranje - 13. siječnja 1998. _________________________________________________________________ MJE. ZADNJA OTVA NAJ- NAJ- ZATVA- NAGODBE RANJE VIŠA NIŽA RANJE MAR8 65.50 65.55 66.40 65.20 65.45 65.46 MAY8 66.90 66.95 67.65 66.65 66.85 66.86 JUL8 68.20 68.40 69.05 68.05 68.20 68.21 OCT8 70.33 70.70 71.00 70.31 70.33 70.33 DEC8 71.65 72.07 72.40 71.60 71.65 71.65 MAR9 73.10 72.65 72.70 MAY9 73.50 73.20 73.25 JUL9 73.90 74.20 73.90 73.90 73.90 74.00 OCT9 73.50 73.65 73.70 DEC9 72.95 72.90 73.05 72.90 72.95 72.95 NYCE cotton ends weaker, March sinks to 4-year low NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - NYCE cotton futures erased early gains and ended weaker in seesaw trading on Tuesday, as continued speculative selling drove the board to new life-of-contract lows, traders said. They said the sell-off -- which sent the spot March contract to more than four-year lows on a continuous weekly basis -- was prompted by a combination of bearish weekly spec/hedge figures, less-than-friendly world supply and usage data and a weak technical picture. Most-active March futures ended 0.12 cent weaker, at 65.46 cents, its lowest level on the weekly charts since December 10, 1993, after ranging between 66.40 and a new lifetime low of 65.20 cents. Second-month May fell 0.15 cent to 66.86 cents, while the remaining months closed down 0.45 to up 0.05 cent. An opening spate of fund buying and local short-covering pushed cotton prices higher despite the bearish spec/hedge and USDA reports, but traders said the March contract's inability to get through chart resistance around 66.40-66.50 cents took the steam out of the rally. "The only reason we open higher is a fund bought 500, 600 lots," said one trader. "We hit stops above 66 (cents in March) and rallied it up real quick." He added, "The USDA report was neutral to slightly bearish, but I think the most bearish was the spec/hedge report." NYCE's weekly spec/hedge report released before the opening bell showed that speculators were net short 26.3 percent in the week ended January 9, unchanged from the previous week. Traders had expected an increase in speculative short position to close to 30 percent. Also ahead of today's open, USDA in its January 1997/98 supply/demand report forecast global cotton production at 90.88 million 480-lb bales, up from its December projection for this season of 90.11 million bales. The increased world output was mainly due to China. China is forecast to produce an estimated 19.5 million bales, versus 18.5 million bales forecast in December. World consumption was forecast to come in at 89.18 million bales in 1997/98, compared with the December world offtake estimate of 89.63 million bales. USDA forecast world ending stocks at 38.29 million bales in 1997/98, up from both the USDA's December forecast of 37.00 million bales. "Its general tone was bearish -- it was no help to the bulls," said Smith Barney vice president David Brandon Jr. "But prices near four-year lows foster renewed enthusiasm for U.S. cotton overseas and I think U.S. exports of 7.3 million bales is still too low. USDA upped its forecast of 1997/98 U.S. exports to 7.3 million versus 7.1 million bales reported in December. Meanwhile, domestic consumption was put at 11.4 million bales, unchanged from December. Technically, near-term support in March was seen at 65.20 cents, its life-of-contract low, followed by 65 cents. On the upside, resistance was pegged at chart gap between 66.40 and 66.70 cents. Volume Tuesday reached an estimated 13,500 lots, up from Monday's official tally of 9,405 lots. 141046 MET jan 98