Prices maintained a firm look on the cotton market on Saturday as mills were still active after the fresh rain in the cotton belt, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 4125, they said. Phutti prices in Sindh were unchanged at Rs 1900-1925 and in Punjab at Rs 1800-1900, they said.
According to the market sources, fresh rains in the Punjab may hurt the cotton quality and may cause rising trend in the rates of Sindh types. Leading cotton analyst, Naseem Usman was of the view that till now above 0.8 million bales of cotton have reached ginneries against the last year figure of nearly 0.6, showing plus 0.2 million bales.
Under the circumstances, it seems that the ginners may lower the asking prices to dispose off unsold stock, they said. On Friday, the NY cotton futures finished at the lowest level in nine months as a weak US job figure underscored fears that fibre demand will soften in a struggling global economy, analysts said.
Key December cotton futures sank 2.62 cents to end at 65.84 cents per lb. The contract moved between 65.61 to 68.59 cents. Volume traded in the December contract stood at 24,638 lots at 2:55 pm (1855 GMT).
The following deals were reported: 2600 bales of cotton fron Shahdadpur sold at Rs 4200, 1000 bales from Tando Adam at Rs 4200, 1600 bales from Mirpurkhas-Sultanabad at Rs 4150-4175, 1200 bales from Khipro at Rs 4175, 400 bales from Jhole at Rs 4200, 400 bales from Hala at Rs 4200, 1000 bales from Bhawalnagar at Rs 4075-4100, 1000 bales from Gojra at Rs 4100-4125, 1000 bales from Sahiwal at Rs 4075-4100, 600 bales from Burewala at Rs 4100, 1000 bales from Pakapttan at Rs 4025-4050, 600 bales from Arifwala at Rs 4075, and 400 bales from Khanewal at Rs 4125, dealers 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"
 MICRONAIRE VALUE BETWEEN 3.8 TO 4.9 NCL
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Rate           Ex-Gin     Upcountry    Spot Rate Ex-Karachi
for            Price                        Sales Tax @ 15%
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37.32 Kgs     4,125.00        50                   4,225.00
Equivalent-------------------------------------------------
40 Kgs        4,421.00        50                   4,521.00
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