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Cotton Futures (CF) โ Textile Demand Meets Global Fiber Markets
Cotton on the Zhengzhou exchange is China's premier textile-fiber contract โ where apparel demand, Xinjiang crop conditions, and ICE New York prices all meet. For traders who want a commodity with consumer-economy sensitivity plus genuine global linkage, CF is the pick.
Contract Specifications
| Exchange | Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) |
| Symbol | CF |
| Underlying | Grade 3128B lint cotton (hand-picked, domestic) |
| Contract size | 5 metric tons per lot |
| Price quote | CNY (ยฅ) per metric ton |
| Minimum tick | ยฅ5 per ton = ยฅ25 per lot (โ$3.50) |
| Daily price limit | Dynamic band set by the exchange (typically ยฑ4% to ยฑ8%) |
| Day session (Beijing) | 9:00โ10:15, 10:30โ11:30, 13:30โ15:00 |
| Night session (Beijing) | 21:00โ23:00 |
| Contract months | Jan / Mar / May / Jul / Sep / Nov (main contracts: Jan / May / Sep) |
| Last trading day | 10th trading day of the delivery month (shifted for holidays) |
| Exchange margin (reference) | Roughly 7โ12% of contract value for the main contract |
Specifications are reference values compiled from exchange publications. Margin ratios and price limits are adjusted dynamically โ the exchange's latest announcements always prevail.
What the Price Actually Buys You
At a typical price of ยฅ15,000/ton, one lot (5 tons) is worth ยฅ75,000 (โ$10,500) โ margin near 8โ10% means roughly ยฅ6,500 (โ$900) controls one lot. Every ยฅ5 tick = ยฅ25 per lot.
CF's personality: patient multi-week trends punctuated by policy and crop headlines. It is the contract Chinese textile-sector analysts trade and the one that responds visibly to global apparel demand data.
What Moves Cotton
- Xinjiang crop and weather. China grows most of its cotton in Xinjiang. Spring planting weather, summer heat, and autumn frost windows drive annual production expectations โ harvest-season volatility is famous.
- ICE New York linkage. World cotton trades in New York; import parity ties CF to ICE prices. US crop reports and Texas drought move both markets.
- Textile and apparel demand. Chinese yarn and fabric mill operating rates, apparel export orders (US/EU retail cycles), and inventory cycles at mills set end-demand.
- Reserve policy. China's cotton reserve purchases and releases are recurring market-moving events.
- Substitute fibers. Polyester (PTA) competes directly in fiber demand โ the CF/PTA price ratio is a watched relative-value gauge.
Why Traders Trade It
Textile-cycle trends. When the apparel cycle turns, cotton trends for months. CF rewards positioning patience.
Session fit. Night session covers US morning โ ICE moves and US crop headlines are tradable live.
What to Watch Out For
- Policy-driven gaps. Reserve actions and Xinjiang-related trade headlines can gap the market โ keep overnight size modest.
- Certification and delivery quirks. Domestic grade standards differ from ICE deliverable cotton โ never assume the two markets are fungible.
Trading Cotton on XS Select
All XS Select evaluations include Cotton and every other major Chinese commodity contract, on real Wenhua Finance market data with institutional liquidity. Commission is set at 2x the exchange standard (charged on open and close) โ replicating professional trading conditions.
Ready to trade it? Take the challenge from $29 โ pass the evaluation and earn a 10x bonus plus a funded performance account with 50% profit share. Sign up โ