Softs Report 03/23/2026

COTTON
General Comments: Cotton was higher last week but closed in the middle of the weekly range as the war with Iran continues but is not going well for the US and as the weather remains s question, Crude Oil was higher again but the gains moderated during the week. The market is also concerned about the weather that has been hot and dry so far in US Cotton areas, mostly from Texas to the west. Much of the demand for Cotton comes from the Middle East and Southeast Asia and the costs of production have increased dramatically because of the war. Much of the rest of the demand comes from China and Southeast Asia. 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. Trends are mixed on the daily charts and up on the weekly charts.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in Cotton are up. Support is at 67.10, 66.40, and 65.00 May, with resistance of 69.40, 70.00 and 70.60 May.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of March 17, 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 427,058
: Positions :
: 104,471 100,910 100,565 120,944 182,603 79,601 31,381 405,581 415,458: 21,477 11,599
: Changes from: March 10, 2026 (Change in open interest: 32,624) :
: 15,004 -22,046 13,510 4,152 43,965 -3,750 -1,002 28,915 34,425: 3,709 -1,801
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 24.5 23.6 23.5 28.3 42.8 18.6 7.3 95.0 97.3: 5.0 2.7
: Total Traders: 401 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 157 114 124 72 61 36 24 337 257:
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FCOJ
General Comments: Futures were lower last week and trends are now down from the recent trading range on the daily charts. Trends are mixed on the weekly charts. The Florida harvest is 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 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 3 notices were posted for delivery against March futures and that total deliveries for the month are now 4 contracts.
Chart Trends: Trends in FCOJ are down. Support is at 163.00, 156.00, and 150.00 May, with resistance at 193,00 202.00, and 207.00 May.

Disaggregated Commitments of Traders- Options and Futures Combined Positions as of March 17, 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 9,033 :
: Positions :
: 1,883 4,770 337 67 83 2,691 1,793 153 1,287 37 930 :
: Changes from: March 10, 2026 :
: -143 588 -9 -46 1 343 -218 -139 -69 -107 3 :
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 20.8 52.8 3.7 0.7 0.9 29.8 19.9 1.7 14.3 0.4 10.3 :
: Number of Traders in Each Category Total Traders: 44 :
: 11 8 . . . 7 10 4 6 4 7 :
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COFFEE
General Comments: New York and London were higher last week, with New York trends trying to turn up and London trends remaining mixed on the weekly charts. There are still ideas of good supplies available on the farm, but getting Coffee from the farm to the market is another problem due to the war with Iran. 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 281.79 ct/lb.
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 282.00, 276.00, and 279.00 May, and resistance is at 301.00, 315.00 and 325.00 May. Trends in London are mixed to down. Support is at 3500, 3400, and 3340 May, with resistance at 3670, 3690, and 3740 May.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of March 17, 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 210,669
: Positions :
: 32,889 22,288 73,096 59,191 96,521 37,213 10,745 202,389 202,651: 8,280 8,019
: Changes from: March 10, 2026 (Change in open interest: 4,510) :
: 1,977 -928 3,440 -390 2,501 -678 -482 4,349 4,530: 161 -20
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 15.6 10.6 34.7 28.1 45.8 17.7 5.1 96.1 96.2: 3.9 3.8
: Total Traders: 362 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 78 117 131 93 104 41 19 295 296:
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SUGAR
General Comments: New York and London were higher again in reaction to strength in petroleum futures. The war has increased world 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 and in fact the war seems to getting bigger. Trends are mixed on the daily charts in both markets. 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 up. Support is at 1410, 1360, and 1330 May and resistance is at 1550, 1600, and 1660 May. Trends in London are mixed. Support is at 440.00, 433.00, and 425.00 May, with resistance at 458.00, 464.00, and 470.00 May.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of March 17, 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 1,173,307
: Positions :
: 112,453 328,890 276,233 387,371 388,966 307,301 99,904 1,083,358 1,093,992: 89,948 79,314
: Changes from: March 10, 2026 (Change in open interest: -30,010) :
: -5,589 -2,246 -23,892 2,078 7,210 -5,188 -8,237 -32,591 -27,165: 2,581 -2,845
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 9.6 28.0 23.5 33.0 33.2 26.2 8.5 92.3 93.2: 7.7 6.8
: Total Traders: 282 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 67 91 86 70 72 35 19 230 212:
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COCOA
General Comments: New York and London closed a little higher in range 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:
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 17, 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 246,189
: Positions :
: 15,995 47,402 94,989 73,582 83,228 50,407 10,087 234,974 235,705: 11,215 10,484
: Changes from: March 10, 2026 (Change in open interest: -8,146) :
: -1,320 -3,286 -5,125 -1,081 213 573 -132 -6,952 -8,329: -1,194 183
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 6.5 19.3 38.6 29.9 33.8 20.5 4.1 95.4 95.7: 4.6 4.3
: Total Traders: 216 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 58 75 86 37 34 33 18 174 171:
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Questions? Ask Jack Scoville today at 312-264-4322