Mills finalise contracts to import cotton

Several mills contracted to import cotton from many countries to keep a balance between demand and supply position, dealers said on the cotton market on Saturday. The official spot rate was higher by Rs 50 to at Rs 8800, they added. In ready session, over 16,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 8700-9000, they said.

Rates of seed cotton per 40kg in Sindh were up by Rs 50 to Rs 3600-4200 and in the Punjab prices were at Rs 3700-4300, they said. In Balochistan, seed cotton prices were up by Rs 100 at Rs 4100-4600, they said.

In Sindh, Binola prices per maund were at Rs 1550-1600 and in Punjab rates were at Rs 1550-1650, they said and adding that polyester fibre was at Rs 187. Market sources said that mills have made contracts to import approximately two million bales of cotton from different countries.

In the meantime, mills were also purchasing cotton from ginners to replenish their stocks, they said. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that rates of fine types may show improvement in time to come.

In India, prices of cotton are increasing due to rise in demand, he added. Adds Reuters: ICE cotton futures soared over 3% on Friday, touching the highest in over two months, on hopes for a resolution of the protracted US-China trade war as high-level negotiations in Washington wrapped up.

The front-month December contract, jumped 2.34 cent, or 3.8%, to 63.76 cents per lb as of 2:06 pm EDT (1606 GMT). Total futures market volume rose by 25,223 to 45,849 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 125 to 236,003 contracts in the previous session.

The following deals reported: 1200 bales of cotton from Khairpur at Rs 8700/8750, 400 bales from Dherki at Rs 9000, 1000 bales from Ghotki at Rs 8900/9000, 1200 bales from Mirpur Mathelo at Rs 8950/9000, 3600 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 8950/9000, 800 bales from Mianwali at Rs 9000, 400 bales from Ghazi Ghat at Rs 9000, 800 bales from Fort Abbass at Rs 8950, 1200 bales from Yazman Mandi at Rs 8900/8950, 800 bales from Haroonabad at Rs 8800/8950, 1000 bales from Dera Ghazi Khan at Rs 8900, 600 bales from Ahmedpur East at Rs 8850, 800 bales from Hasilpur at Rs 8850/8900, 400 bales from Rajanpur at Rs 8850, 600 bales from Layyah at Rs 8800, 600 bales from Chistian at Rs 8800 and 400 bales from Bahawal Nagar at Rs 8800, they said.

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The KCA Official Spot Rate for Local Dealings in Pakistan Rupees
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                     FOR BASE GRADE 3 STAPLE LENGTH 1-1/16"
                    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 11-10-2019
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37.324 kg         8,800       160         8,960       8,910          + 50/-
Equivalent
40 kgs            9,431       171         9,602       9,548          + 54/-
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