Volume of business falls on cotton market

Trading activity slowed down on the cotton market on Friday owing to lack of fresh leads, dealers said.

The official spot rate was down by Rs 100 to Rs 8800, they added. In ready session, about 5000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 7650-9000, they said.

Rates of seed cotton per 40kg in Sindh were at Rs 2600-4300 and in the Punjab prices were at Rs 3500-4400, they said. In Balochistan, seed cotton prices were at Rs 3500-4300, they said.

In Sindh, Binola prices per maund were at Rs 1400-1700, in Punjab and Balochistan rates were at Rs 1500-1600, they said and adding that polyester fibre was available at Rs 179 per kg.

Market sources said that mills indulged in cautious buying of cotton to replenish their stock.

Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that short supply of quality cotton is the main factor behind the decline in trading activity.

Other experts said that the government should come forward to tackle with the growers and farmers problems.

Adds Reuters: ICE cotton futures settled lower on Thursday, hurt by uninspiring export sales data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), while lack of clarity in trade talks between the United States and China kept investors on edge. Cotton contracts for March settled down 0.19 cent, or 0.3%, at 64.51 cents per lb.

Total futures market volume fell by 3,261 to 21,431 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 289 to 197,012 contracts in the previous session.

Total futures market volume fell by 8,679 to 24,555 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 267 to 196,723 contracts in the previous session.

The following deals reported: 1000 bales of cotton from Khanpur at Rs 8100/8300, 1000 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 9000, (SEED) 470 bales from Layyah at Rs 8500/8530, 400 bales from Haroonabad at Rs 8400, 400 bales from Fort Abbas at Rs 8400, 400 bales from Bahawal Nagar at Rs 7775, 600 bales from Chichawatni at Rs 7650, 600 bales from Vehari at Rs 7650, 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  05-12-2019
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37.324 kg         8,800       160         8,960        9,060        - 100/-
Equivalent
40 kgs            9,431       171         9,602        9,709        - 107/-
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