Softs Report 03/16/2026

COTTON
General Comments: Cotton was higher last week on the war with Iran and as the weekly export sales report was somewhat positive despite demand fears as the war with Iran continues that could curb export demand for US Cotton, Much of the demand for Cotton comes from the Middle East and Southeast Asia but thee costs of production have increased dramatically because of the war. Overseas production in places like India and Brazil are expected to be high, but overall world production is expected by USDA to fall on reduced global planted rea and reduced yields. USDA on Tuesday made no changes in the monthly domestic WASDE reports but increased ending stocks estimates in the world data. Trends are turning up on the daily charts.
Overnight News: ICE said that 0 notices were posted for delivery against March futures and that total deliveries for the month are now 630 contracts.
Chart Trends: Trends in Cotton are mixed to up. Support is at 65.00, 63.40, and 62.00 May, with resistance of 66.50, 66.90 and 67.10 May.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of March 10, 2026
: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
COTTON NO. 2 – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #033661 Open Interest is 394,433
: Positions :
: 89,468 122,956 87,055 116,792 138,638 83,351 32,384 376,666 381,033: 17,768 13,400
: Changes from: March 3, 2026 (Change in open interest: 8,860) :
: 8,269 -1,524 -776 4,525 8,956 -4,145 904 7,873 7,562: 987 1,298
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 22.7 31.2 22.1 29.6 35.1 21.1 8.2 95.5 96.6: 4.5 3.4
: Total Traders: 397 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 142 125 116 72 59 35 24 316 262:
——————————————————————————————————————-

FCOJ
General Comments: Futures were higher last week but held the recent trading range. Prices ar now at the top end of the short term range. The Florida harvest is active but starting to wrap up and the weather remains benign for harvest progress as conditions are mostly dry. The weather for the next crop is dry but seasonal. Chart trends are mixed or up on the daily charts. The weather is considered good for production in Brazil and Mexico. Scattered showers are still reported in Brazil.
Overnight News: ICE said that 0 notices were posted for delivery against March futures and that total deliveries for the month are now 0 contracts.
Chart Trends: Trends in FCOJ are mixed. Support is at 160.00, 153.00, and 1\46.00 May, with resistance at 200.00, 207.00, and 222.00 May.

Disaggregated Commitments of Traders- Options and Futures Combined Positions as of March 10, 2026
: Reportable Positions :
:————————————————————————————————————- :
: Producer/Merchant : : : :
: Processor/User : Swap Dealers : Managed Money : Other Reportables :
: Long : Short : Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short :Spreading :
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FRZN CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE – ICE FUTURES U.S. (CONTRACTS OF 15,000 POUNDS) :
CFTC Code #040701 Open Interest is 9,030 :
: Positions :
: 2,026 4,183 346 113 82 2,348 2,011 292 1,356 144 927 :
: Changes from: March 3, 2026 :
: -74 309 -41 -9 6 224 5 -21 -91 -77 7 :
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 22.4 46.3 3.8 1.3 0.9 26.0 22.3 3.2 15.0 1.6 10.3 :
: Number of Traders in Each Category Total Traders: 45 :
: 12 8 . . . 7 11 7 6 5 5 :
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COFFEE
General Comments: New York and London were lower last week on ideas of good supplies available to the market. Brazil said last week that that exports dropped significantly in February and exports might not improve that much in March due to shipping costs and concerns. Vietnam producers have pulled back from selling as they have already sold quite a bit. There are reports of very good conditions in Brazil and a large crop is forecast. Brazil producers have stopped selling due to the recent fall in prices. World production conditions are generally good. Scattered showers are being reported now to improve tree condition in Brazil. Mexico is in good condition, as is Central America. Vietnam has scattered showers lately and conditions there are called good.
Overnight News: The ICO average price is 271.35 ct/lb. ICE NY said that 74 notices were posted for delivery against March futures and that total deliveries for the month are now 1,044 contracts.
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 276.00, 270.00, and 264.00 May, and resistance is at 297.00, 315.00 and 325.00 May. Trends in London are down. Support is at 3400, 3340, and 3280 May, with resistance at 3550, 3630, and 4690 May.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of March 10, 2026
: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
COFFEE C – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #083731 Open Interest is 206,159
: Positions :
: 30,912 23,216 69,657 59,581 94,021 37,891 11,227 198,040 198,121: 8,119 8,039
: Changes from: March 3, 2026 (Change in open interest: -2,432) :
: 663 -3,537 -3,587 975 4,597 -1,146 -376 -3,096 -2,903: 664 471
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 15.0 11.3 33.8 28.9 45.6 18.4 5.4 96.1 96.1: 3.9 3.9
: Total Traders: 359 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 76 114 128 98 103 40 17 297 287:
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SUGAR
General Comments: New York was a little higher and London was near unchanged in a muted reaction to rallies in petroleum futures despite reports that the Iran war is causing the release of strategic petroleum reserves. The war has increased could petroleum prices and could divert demand from Sugar production to production of ethanol/ President Ttrump has called for a quick end to the war but no one seems to agree with him that a quick end is coming. Trends are mixed on the daily charts in New York but are turning down in London. There are good supplies for the market from good growing conditions for cane and beets around the world. The prospect of a big global surplus in the 2025/26 season was keeping the market on the defensive but a rise in production in India and Thailand being offset by the war.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 1360, 1340, and 1310 May and resistance is at 1470, 1480, and 1490 May. Trends in London are mixed. Support is at 402.00, 395.00, and 388.00 May, with resistance at 426.00, 428.00, and 430.00 May.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of March 10, 2026
: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
SUGAR NO. 11 – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #080732 Open Interest is 1,203,317
: Positions :
: 118,042 331,136 300,126 385,293 381,756 312,488 108,140 1,115,950 1,121,158: 87,367 82,159
: Changes from: March 3, 2026 (Change in open interest: -1,319) :
: 2,720 -22,000 4,137 -16,409 30,462 64 -13,315 -9,489 -717: 8,170 -602
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 9.8 27.5 24.9 32.0 31.7 26.0 9.0 92.7 93.2: 7.3 6.8
: Total Traders: 275 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 68 85 86 69 70 35 19 225 209:
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COCOA
General Comments: New York and London closed a little higher in choppy trading last week. Short term trends are mixed in both markets. A big main crop harvest has arrived in West Africa and rains have been positive for the next crop. There are still reports of increased production potential in other countries outside of West Africa, including Asia and Central America. The market feels that there is less demand due to the high prices seen last year and the lack of demand is expected to continue. Weak demand has led to a build-up on unsold supplies in both Ivory Coast and Ghana, while the prospect of another global surplus in 2026/27 are real. Cocoa demand has fallen sharply after prices nearly tripled in 2024, prompting chocolate makers to reformulate ingredients and shrink the size of their bars.
Overnight News: ICE NY said that 0 notices were posted for delivery against March futures and that total deliveries for the month are now 793 contracts.
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 2740, 2620, and 2500 May, with resistance at 3860, 4330, and 4400 May. Trends in London are down. Support is at 2000, 1940, and 1880 May, with resistance at 2670, 2970, and 3050 May.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of March 10, 2026
: Reportable Positions : Nonreportable
:—————————————————————————————- : Positions
: Non-Commercial : Commercial : Index Traders : Total
: Long : Short :Spreading: Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short : Long : Short
——————————————————————————————————————-
COCOA – ICE FUTURES U.S.
CFTC Code #073732 Open Interest is 254,334
: Positions :
: 17,315 50,687 100,113 74,663 83,014 49,834 10,219 241,926 244,034: 12,408 10,300
: Changes from: March 3, 2026 (Change in open interest: -1,048) :
: 2,516 2,923 -693 1,775 -1,256 -729 -2,612 -2,164 -1,637: 1,116 590
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 6.8 19.9 39.4 29.4 32.6 19.6 4.0 95.1 96.0: 4.9 4.0
: Total Traders: 221 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 57 81 90 39 32 34 19 180 174:
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Questions? Ask Jack Scoville today at 312-264-4322