China has decided to release cotton in its state reserves, a move that can shake up the global market for the fiber. The news helped push cotton futures to a three-week low on Friday. The contract for March delivery on the ICE Futures US exchange later settled 0.5% lower. Further India has cancelled cotton export to Pakistan a few times in the past after the price of the commodity shot up at the world markets. Moreover, India also estimated slowdown in cotton production this fiscal year.

The Cotlook A index also sobered US cents 0.55 while China Cotton Index inched up 14 Yuan a ton. In India, cotton prices remained steady to weak despite arrivals declined by about 11.74% as of December-end. In Pakistan, the Karachi Cotton Exchange (KCE) however, kept its spot rate unchanged for the 16th consecutive day at PakRs.6,000 per maund.