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NYMEX Cotton 
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Cotton (Financial) futures are an outright cotton contract between a buyer and seller that industry participants, such as cotton producers, exporters, importers and retailers can use to manage price risk.

  • Provide effective risk management opportunities for participants in a number of markets that use cotton, including textiles, paper, livestock feed and coffee filters
  • Are financially-settled contracts that provide price discovery and remove the complexities of the physically-delivered process

Things to know about the contracts

  • Traded electronically on the CME Globex platform, virtually around the clock
  • Off-exchange transactions can be submitted for clearing only through CME ClearPort, as EFSs
  • Trading months consist of a March, May, July and October cycle over a 24-month-period
  • Are a dollar-denominated, financially-settled contract of 50,000 pounds

About Cotton
Cotton, derived from the cotton plant, is the world’s most widely-used natural fiber for clothing. Archaeological findings have discovered that people from India and South America grew cotton as far back as 7,000 years ago. It was a pivotal factor in wars including the United States Civil War in the 1860s. Today, cotton is used in a number of industries, including textiles, coffee filters, paper printing, and livestock feed.