Zhengzhou: Cotton futures closed lower Thursday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE). The most active cotton contract for January 2026 delivery lost 15 yuan (about 2.12 U.S. dollars) to close at 13,490 yuan per tonne.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE reached 203,777 lots, with a turnover of 13.75 billion yuan. China, as the world's largest producer, consumer, and exporter of textiles, first listed cotton futures on the ZCE in June 2004, providing cotton-related enterprises with a tool to hedge against price risk.