Modest business was seen on the cotton market on Saturday as exporters took interest in purchasing of low quality cotton, in the meantime, mills and spinners kept on the sidelines to see fresh development after the release of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) weekly data, dealers said.
The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 5,600, they said. Prices of seedcotton in Sindh were at Rs 1800-2300 and in the Punjab at Rs 2200-2650, they said. In ready dealings, over 5000 bales of cotton changed hands at Rs 2800-5800, they said. Some analysts said that phutti arrivals figure is 23.84 percent higher against the last year. The PCGA issued the figure till February 15 at 14.1 million bales.
India and China are interested in cotton, so it is expected that local exporters likely to export 1.2 million bales this year, they said. Most probably, the prices may show softness in the coming days. Other reason behind the sluggish trend was downward trend in the NY cotton futures, they added.
According to the Reuters, on Friday, the US cotton futures finished with more than one percent declines, but brokers said the selling was primarily profit taking ahead of a long holiday weekend. The US cotton market, along with other commodity and financial markets, will be closed on Monday for the US President's Day holiday. The nearby March contract also lost ground to players exiting their positions as the February 23 delivery date approaches.
March cotton on ICE Futures US lost a penny, or 1.08 percent, to stand at 91.45 cents per lb at the close. Prices spanned 91.31 to 93.27, and fell to their lowest since Tuesday. March volume came to 6,797 lots as more players exited their positions ahead of the delivery period for the contract.
New benchmark May futures finished at 92.65 per lb, a 1.06 cent, 1.13 percent, loss. The range extended from 92.39 to 94.29, but the low held within the parameters of an uptrend line that began at the December 15 low. May volume came to a healthy 13,205 lots just after the exchange session ended. On Thursday, open interest in March futures slid by 7,136 to 21,215 lots. But, open positions in May futures jumped by 3,589 to 83,316 lots.
The following deals were reported: 200 bales of cotton from Khadro (Low Quality) at Rs 2800, 400 bales from Shahdad Pur (Low Quality) at Rs 3000, 400 bales from Mir Pur Khas (Low Quality) at Rs 3100, 400 bales from Mir Pur Khas at Rs 4050, 400 bales of cotton from Khichiwala at Rs 5200, 400 bales from Haroonabad at Rs 5200, 600 bales from Chistian at Rs 5300, 400 bales from Hasil Pur at Rs 5300, 400 bales from Lodhran at Rs 5350, 800 bales from Dera Ghazi Khan at Rs 5500, 200 bales of cotton from Basti Malook at Rs 5650, 400 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 5750 and 400 bales of cotton from Mian Wali at Rs 5800.
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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 17.02.2012
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37.324 Kgs 5,600 130 5,730 5,730 NIL
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Equivalent
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40 Kgs 6,002 130 6,132 6,132 NIL
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