Cotton is over $1 per pound right now and so producers have got to hedge – but keying dollar cotton is another issue…
See, for a cotton trader, you key cotton prices all day.
There is a rhythm to it and familiarity that grows over time.
A warm coffee, the glow of a computer screen, and a ten-key as you enter orders.
Order to open and hedge, order to close and lift said hedge.
But here is the thing.
The vast majority of the time, cotton prices are 4 digits.
- 76 cent cotton: 7600
- 85 cent cotton: 8500
- 93 and a half-cent cotton: 9350
Do you see it?
When cotton gets over a dollar, it becomes a five-digit number.
- $1.00 cotton: 10000
- $1.0700 cotton: 10700
- $1.1145 cotton: 11145
Suddenly it feels like I am off by a decimal everywhere I look. Everything looks wrong.
These are just the facts.
But no matter.
I absolutely love this job.
Cotton Growers:
DM me if you need to fix your prices!
I will. Set. You. Up.