Cotton futures on the New York Board of Trade finished lower most of the week on speculative sales as weakness in crude and other markets pressured fiber contracts. Analysts, however, feel the influence of other commodities may soon start to wane and the focus will again turn to cotton's own fundamentals.

"Cotton seems to be at the mercy of other markets and unable to focus on its own supply and demand situation for other than a fleeting moment," one industry observer said. "I suspect once planting decisions are in place for next spring, the delicate balance of attempting to keep cotton in close competition with corn or beans will tip with the focus returning to demand," she explained.

Cotton prices have remained relatively strong due to the trade's belief that U.S. cotton plantings in 2008 will again decline due to higher acreage going to corn and wheat. U.S. cotton plantings in 2007 stood at an 18-year low of 11.01 million acres, and most analysts believe actual plantings could slide to 9.5 or 10 million acres, which could lead to higher cotton demand.

Meanwhile, USDA's export sales report again was in line with industry expectations and failed to "light a fire" under the market this week, analysts said. Net sales of 198,100 bales were up one percent from the previous week and 31 percent from the four-week average. Major buyers were Turkey, China, Mexico, and Thailand.

Export shipments of 177,700 bales were six percent more than the week earlier, but 24 percent below the four-week average. Primary destinations included Turkey, Mexico, China, and Indonesia.

"USDA's export sales report was consistent with those of the previous weeks," a cotton market observer noted. "The pace continues to lag that needed to hit USDA's projections but the seasonality of this data suggests that bigger numbers should be ahead," he added.

Sales were higher in the spot cotton market as online trading by producers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas totaled 17,591 bales in the week ended Nov. 2 compared to 12,897 bales the previous week. Average prices received by producers ranged from 57.38 to 61.29 cents per pound versus 55.54 to 59.84 cents per pound one week earlier.

In other news, good harvesting weather prevailed across most of Texas and Oklahoma this week. A vast majority of fields in West Texas have been defoliated, and many producers in the southern parts of the Rolling Plains are rushing to get the crop off the stalk in order to sow winter wheat. Some growers, however, still are awaiting a killing freeze, which usually occurs in mid-November.

So far, most farmers have been pleased with above-average yields. Production from some High Plains dryland fields have been reported at between 720 and 960 pounds per acre, while irrigated yields have ranged from 1,440 to 1,920 pounds per acre. Quality also has been good, with color grades predominately middling white and better.

The harvest is expanding at a rapid pace in Oklahoma, and many gins are working at full capacity. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported 24 percent of the Oklahoma crop had been harvested by Oct. 29. Kansas producers had harvested 10 percent of their crop in the same time period, just two percentage points behind the state's five-year average, but well behind the 22 percent harvested at the same time last year.