Lethargic mood was seen on the cotton market on Thursday as most of the participants were on the sidelines after confirmation of two cases of coronavirus in the country, dealers said.
The official spot rate maintained week-end level at Rs9000, they added. In the ready session, not a single deal was reported, dealers said.
Rate of seed cotton per 40kg in Sindh low quality was at Rs2800, while the best quality was unchanged at Rs4100, and in the Punjab prices of low quality were at Rs2800 while the fine type was available at Rs4600, they said.
In Sindh, Binola prices per maund were at Rs1400-1800, in Punjab rates were at Rs1650-1800, they said and the rate of polyester fibre was at Rs173 per kg, they added.
According to the market sources, both buyers and sellers were worried following the confirmation of two coronavirus cases. It is very surprising to note that the people are feeling panic despite of precautionary measures by the government.
Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that the ginners were not keen to sell cotton at the prevailing rates, expecting better rates in the coming days.
In fact, the ginners are not interested to sell unsold cotton, anticipating a rise in the rates, other experts said. They said that steps announced by the government failed to provide any sooth to the textile sector, instead withdrawal of subsidy on electricity, will affect the sector and growers are under pressure as cotton seeds are not available easily in the market.
The country spends about 3 billion worth dollars on the import of cotton to keep a balance between demand and supply, it's really a very big burden on the foreign exchange reserves, they noted.
Adds Reuters: Cotton futures fell to a 2-1/2-month low on Wednesday as fear of an economic slowdown arising from the globally spreading coronavirus weighed on investor sentiment.
Cotton contracts for May fell 0.81 cent, or 1.2%, at 65.49 cents per lb at 14:07 p.m. (1907 GMT), after hitting their lowest since Dec 5 at 65.40 cents.
Total futures market volume fell by 4,676 to 32,923 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 1,877 to 194,910 contracts in the previous session.
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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 26-02-2020
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37.324 kg 9,000 160 9,160 9,160 NIL
Equivalent
40 kgs 9,645 171 9,816 9,816 NIL
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