Softs Report 08/17/2026

COTTON
General Comments: Cotton was higher last week on speculative buying after the USDA WASDE reports and the weekly export sales report that showed strong sales. Futures are now correcting the recent up move. USDA trimmed production to 13.61 million bales from 13.7 million before. Demand was left unchanged at 13.90 million bales and ending stocks were estimated at 3.0 million bales from 3.1 million before. USDA showed that conditions are still well behind year ago levels and showed deterioration last week with the crop starting to open bolls. Progress is about average, with bolls being set and squaring proceeding at a normal pace. Forecasts and reports of scattered to isolated showers in Cotton areas continue for the Delts, and the Southeast. Temperatures will be warm to hot in all areas. Trends are mixed on the daily and are up the weekly charts.
Overnight News
Chart Trends: Trends in Cotton are mixed to down. Support is at 77.10, 75.50, and 74.50 December, with resistance of 86.20, 88.10 and 89.30 December.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of August 11, 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 498,899
: Positions :
: 116,078 34,720 146,920 123,711 282,316 92,626 26,523 479,335 490,480: 19,564 8,419
: Changes from: August 4, 2026 (Change in open interest: 25,270) :
: 6,438 -539 10,640 3,377 14,534 3,395 804 23,850 25,440: 1,419 -170
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 23.3 7.0 29.4 24.8 56.6 18.6 5.3 96.1 98.3: 3.9 1.7
: Total Traders: 381 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 170 68 123 75 74 44 20 333 245:
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FCOJ
General Comments: Futures were a little higher last week and trends are mixed on the daily charts. The weekly charts are mixed. It is still dry in Florida but showers are showing up. The weather for the next crop is dry but seasonal and some rains are now being reported. The weather is considered good for production in Mexico but it is dry in Brazil. Scattered showers are still reported in southern Brazil but many areas are drying out seasonally.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in FCOJ are mixed to down. Support is at 135.00, 130.00, and 124.00 September, with resistance at 154,00 159.00, and 167.00 September.

Disaggregated Commitments of Traders- Options and Futures Combined Positions as of August 11, 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 11,326 :
: Positions :
: 2,402 3,453 853 179 74 2,330 3,756 186 1,982 208 1,380 :
: Changes from: August 4, 2026 :
: 260 41 52 122 -55 -49 241 -65 -126 -18 258 :
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 21.2 30.5 7.5 1.6 0.7 20.6 33.2 1.6 17.5 1.8 12.2 :
: :
: 9 6 . . . 8 13 . 10 6 9 :
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COFFEE
General Comments: New York was higher and London was lower yesterday and trends are still mixed on the daily charts but are turning down in London. Brazil coffee is more and more available. Lower quality coffee is available but higher quality is hard to find due to weather problems. The next crop is developing well in South America amid scattered to isolated showers. Brazil has been hot and dry Indonesia is now about 80% harvested. Asian conditions are called good. Other world production conditions are generally good. Mexico is in good condition, but Central America is dry. Deliverable stocks are still below 300,000 bags and are well below last year.
Overnight News: The ICO average price is 287.71 c19lb.
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 317.00, 306.00, and 300.00 September, and resistance is at 352.00, 357.00 and 364.00 September. Trends in London are m4ied. Support is at 3740, 3560, and 3490 September, with resistance at 3770, 3930, and 4130 September.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of August 11, 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 234,079
: Positions :
: 28,793 17,150 96,849 59,109 106,666 40,530 6,694 225,282 227,359: 8,797 6,721
: Changes from: August 4, 2026 (Change in open interest: 6,987) :
: -160 -1,401 1,273 5,114 6,597 195 107 6,422 6,577: 565 411
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 12.3 7.3 41.4 25.3 45.6 17.3 2.9 96.2 97.1: 3.8 2.9
: Total Traders: 351 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 93 87 119 105 118 38 16 300 283:
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SUGAR
General Comments: New York and London were higher last week but futures appear to have stalled out for now and trends are mixed on the daily charts. The Iran war made bio fuels less valuable again, and Sugar has been slow to respond to rallies in petroleum products anyway. Drought in Europe and Brail are a major concern. The hot and dry weather is causing losses Sugarbeets production. There have been some rains in center-south Brazil causing some harvest delas, but generally dry weather is now forecast. Indian production is also less after hot and dry conditions and production in the rest of Asia could be hurt by El Nino weather. The Iran war has been paused as both sides signing a memorandum of understanding and continuing negotiations in Geneva. 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. Drier weather in parts of Brazil and India has been good for the harvest.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 1600, 1570, and 1540 October and resistance is 1690, 1720, and 1750 October. Trends in London are mixed to down. Support is at 509.00, 499.00, and 480.00 October, with resistance at 524.00, 530.00, and 536.00 October.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of August 11, 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 1,424,802
: Positions :
: 239,721 246,700 367,948 353,846 642,741 360,937 97,098 1,322,451 1,354,487: 102,351 70,315
: Changes from: August 4, 2026 (Change in open interest: 172,179) :
: 43,815 -52,307 81,252 -4,379 153,046 35,594 -4,944 156,282 177,047: 15,897 -4,868
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 16.8 17.3 25.8 24.8 45.1 25.3 6.8 92.8 95.1: 7.2 4.9
: Total Traders: 313 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 105 74 105 76 73 41 21 275 226:
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COCOA
General Comments: New York and London were lower last week. Daily chart trends are mixed and weekly trends are mixed. 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 but demand has started to increase.
Overnight News:
Chart Trends: Trends in New York are mixed. Support is at 5360, 3760, and 3660 September, with resistance at 6220, 6480, and 6600 September. Trends in London are mixed. Support is at 4000, 3660, and 3540 September, with resistance at 4570, 4820, and 4940 September.

COT — Supplemental Report – Option and Futures Combined Positions as of August 11, 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 258,272
: Positions :
: 15,730 33,618 98,315 84,270 97,670 48,551 19,612 246,866 249,215: 11,406 9,057
: Changes from: August 4, 2026 (Change in open interest: -18,752) :
: -2,717 -425 -10,002 -4,218 -5,768 -1,657 -1,962 -18,595 -18,158: -157 -594
: Percent of Open Interest Represented by Each Category of Trader :
: 6.1 13.0 38.1 32.6 37.8 18.8 7.6 95.6 96.5: 4.4 3.5
: Total Traders: 203 Number of Traders in Each Category :
: 56 65 85 43 36 28 20 175 161:
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Questions? Ask Jack Scoville today at 312-264-4322