74 
BULLETIN 1444, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 
SUPPLY OF CERTIFICATED COTTON 
The supply of certificated cotton in the futures markets has an 
important bearing on the relation of the price of futures and the 
price of spots in the big spot markets. When the stock of certifi- 
cated cotton is low, the price of current futures tends to be higher 
than spots ; and if the stock is heavy, futures may be lower. 
Table 16. — Certificated stocks of cotton, the price of contracts for future de- 
livery, and the price of spots, hy months, July, 1923-Septemuer, 192J t 
Year and month 
Certificated stocks 
as of the first of 
the month 
New 
York 
New- 
Orleans 
Price of cotton for 
future delivery 
New 
York 
New 
Orleans 
Average 
price of 
Middling 
spot 
cotton 
1923 
July 
August 
September 
October 
November 
December 
'1924 
January 
February 
March 
April 
May 
June 
July 
August 
September 
Bales 
78, 029 
24, 058 
2,483 
350 
14. 565 
32. 816 
163, 469 
153, 926 
148, 849 
127, 672 
72, 903 
60, 574 
45, 091 
78, 387 
40, 294 
Bales 
4,208 
9,420 
7,652 
6,627 
8,887 
16, 910 
21, 502 
17,744 
19, 419 
22, 920 
7,958 
24, 164 
16, 769 
13, 896 
3,907 
Cents per 
pound 
26.46 
23.93 
28.07 
29.03 
34.19 
35.19 
33.65 
31.56 
28.35 
29.98 
30.82 
28.76 
30.65 
26.52 
23.60 
Cents per 
pound 
25. 92 
23.33 
27.32 
28.37 
33.77 
34.31 
33.77 
31.78 
29.01 
30.10 
30.51 
28.10 
27.68 
25.73 
22.74 
Cents per 
pound 
25.87 
24.22 
27.67 
28.90 
33.29 
34.39 
33.69 
31.74 
28.54 
30.23 
30.33 
29.38 
29.32 
27.16 
22.74 
Figures for the certificated stocks are those reported daily to the Department of Agriculture. The New 
York and New Orleans futures prices are the averages for the nearest active month. The price of Middling 
spot cotton is the average for the 10 designated spot markets. 
During the four months between July, 1923, and September, 1924, 
when the stocks of certificated cotton in New York were more than 
100,000 bales, the price of New York futures averaged 16 points 
below the price of Middling spot cotton in the 10 designated markets. 
On the other hand, the average price of New York futures was 36 
points above the price in the 10 markets during the 11 months when 
the stocks of certificated cotton in New York were less than 100,000 
bales. 
The prices of future contracts in New Orleans average lower than 
the prices in New York. The stocks of certificated cotton do not 
fluctuate so widely and on the average are not nearly so large. Dur- 
ing the eight months when the New Orleans certificated stock was 
more than 10,000 bales, the price of New Orleans futures averaged 50 
points below the average price of Middling in the 10 markets. When 
the certificated stocks averaged less than 10,000 bales, the price aver- 
aged 18 points below the average in the 10 markets. 
The quality of the certificated stock is an important factor in de- 
termining the relative price of futures and spot cotton. When there 
are large premiums for cotton above seven-eighth inch and there is a 
large supply of seven-eighth inch of poor character, the shorter 
lengths tend to be delivered on contract and thus to depress the price 
