Mills and spinners kept on the sidelines on the cotton market on Saturday amid protests and rallies against the gas and power shortage in the country, dealers said. Official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 6000, they said. In ready business, above 1200 bales of cotton finalised between Rs 5900 and Rs 6050, they said. Prices of cottonseed (phutti) in Sindh at Rs 2300-2700 and in Punjab rates were at Rs 2400-2800, they said.
Commenting on the lean business for the second consecutive, cotton analyst Naseem Usman said that the mills preferred to the sideline to protest against the shortage of gas and electricity in the country, particularly in the industrial zone, which is already under pressure due to lack of basic facilities. The government may discuss the issue with the mills, so it is likely that the cotton traders may give up protests and start business activity next week, analysts said.
According to the Reuters, the US cotton extended its losses on Friday, notching its biggest one-day fall in five weeks and hitting two-week lows as investors continued to take profits from fibers' gains to multi-month highs earlier in the week. In just two days, the market has retraced half the ground it gained over its three-week rally to 77.1 cents per lb on Wednesday. That was its highest level since September 19. Light volumes have partially exaggerated the move lower, but brokers also attributed it a pause before another move higher, traders said.
The most-active March cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled down 1.35 cents, or 1.77 percent, at 74.66 cents per lb after falling to a two-week low of 74.62 cents. Even so, fibers were on track for their best quarterly performance since the first quarter 2011 when the market peaked above $2.2 per lb, levels not seen since the US Civil War in the 1860s. The following deals were reported: 800 bales of cotton from Alipur at Rs 5900 and 400 bales from Rahimyar Khan at Rs 6050, they said.
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The KCA Official Spot Rate for Local Dealings in Pak Rupees
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FOR BASE GRADE 3 STAPLE LENGTH 1-1/32"
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MICRONAIRE VALUE BETWEEN 3.8 TO 4.9 NCL
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Rate Ex-Gin Upcountry Spot Rate Spot Rate Difference
For Price Ex-Karachi Ex. KHI. As Ex-Karachi
on 28.12.2012
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37.324 Kgs 6,000 155 6,155 6,155 NIL
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Equivalent
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40 Kgs 6,430 155 6,585 6,585 NIL
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