ICE cotton futures posted stronger trade on Tuesday, with contracts closing 40 to 45 points higher. Crude oil futures were up 46 cents per barrel at $58.47, while the US dollar index declined by 0.364 to 97.590.

The Export Sales catch-up report released Tuesday showed cotton sales of 304,689 RB for the week ending December 11, a marketing-year high and the largest weekly total since February. Shipments improved to 134,371 RB, marking a five-week high.

The updated CFTC Commitment of Traders report showed that in the week ending December 16, managed money added just 180 contracts to its net short position in cotton futures and options, taking the total net short to 54,833 contracts.

The December 22 online auction from The Seam reported sales of 12,794 bales at an average price of 59.15 cents per pound. The Cotlook A Index was up 40 points on December 22 at 73.70 cents. ICE certified cotton stocks declined by 796 bales on Monday due to decertification, bringing certified stocks down to 11,600 bales. The Adjusted World Price was updated last Thursday to 49.99 cents per pound, down 40 points from the previous week.