LAHORE: The Spot Rate remained unchanged on the cotton market on Tuesday. The market remained steady and the trading volume remained low.

Cotton analyst Naseem Usman while talking to Business Recorder told that price of Phutti of Sindh was traded from Rs 4500-7600 per 40 kilograms; Punjab’s Phutti attracted per 40 kilograms prices from Rs 6000 to Rs 7800. The Prime Quality Cotton was available at Rs 17500 per maund.

Similarly, Phutti from Balochistan was traded at Rs 6500 per 40 kilograms to Rs 8200 per 40 kilograms.

Cotton of Sindh was traded from Rs 13,500 to Rs 17000 per maund, Punjab’s cotton was traded from Rs 14,500 to Rs 17000 per maund and Balochistan’s cotton prices remained from Rs 16,000 per maund to Rs 16,500 per maund.

While Banola from Sindh was traded from Rs 1,400 to Rs 2,300 per maund, Punjab’s crop was traded from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,400 per maund and Balochistan’s Banola was traded from Rs 1,700 to Rs 2,300 per maund, added Naseem Usman.

As many as 800 bales of Ghotki were sold at Rs 17000 to Rs 17300 per maund, 200 bales of Fazil Pur were sold at Rs 17500 per maund and 1400 bales of Hasil Pur were sold at Rs 14850 to Rs 15000 per maund, 800 bales of Yazman Mandi and 400 bales of Faqeer Wali were sold at Rs 15450 per maund.

A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet was informed that none of the markets in Sindh or Punjab witnessed seed cotton prices lower than Rs5000 per 40kg (the benchmark for market intervention).

A meeting of the ECC meeting was updated about cotton prices in domestic and international markets for the month of October 2021.

The meeting was told that the Cotton Price Review Committee (CPRC) met in October and on November 10, 2021 and reviewed weekly cotton prices in local, as well as, in international markets.

Seed-cotton, lint cotton, and cotton seed prices were collected on a daily basis from Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Sukkur/ Ghotki, and Khairpur districts of Sindh and Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Sahiwal, and Dera Ghazi Khan districts of the Punjab province.

For international markets, Cotlook New York Futures prices for December/ March contracts and cotton prices in India were reviewed for corresponding period.

The price data reveals that none of the markets in Sindh or the Punjab witnessed seed cotton prices lower than Rs5000 per 40kg.

ECC takes decisions on sugar, cotton. The import parity price (IPP) of cotton lint has ranged from Rs18,666 to Rs19,583 per 40kg, which translates into seed cotton prices as Rs7,117 to Rs7,404 per 40kg.

The prices in local market in all major cotton growing districts of Punjab and Sindh during October remained between Rs5,696 and 6,043/40kg mainly because of high demand and disruption in sea shipments, which delayed imported cotton.

The ECC was further informed that global high demand and short supply creating pressure on international prices, resultantly, average Cotlook an index price remained above 100 cents during the month of October 2021.

Since cotton prices remained higher than intervention price threshold of Rs5,000/ 40kg during October 2021, the CPRC decided to continue to monitor prices in the domestic and international markets by advising the TCP to remain ready to intervene.

The meeting was informed that average 40kg seed cotton price in Punjab was Rs5,966, while average 50kg seed cotton price in Sindh was Rs5,614 and seed cotton price in Pakistan was Rs5,790, while cotton seed Banola price in Punjab was Rs1,805, in Sindh Rs1,631, and in Pakistan Rs1,718 per 40kg.

The meeting was further informed that lint cotton price in Punjab 40kg was Rs15,060.93 and in Sindh Rs13,809. Lint cotton price in Pakistan was Rs14,435.

ICE cotton futures extended losses on Monday to their lowest level in two weeks, tracking a pullback in wider financial and commodities markets on worries over a rapid surge in coronavirus cases.

The cotton contract for March was down 2.60 cents, or 2.4%, at 104.70 cents per lb by 11:11 a.m. EST (1611 GMT). It traded within a range of 104.5 and 107.69 cents a lb.

“A lot of markets including cotton are down on fear of the omicron coronavirus variant really spreading faster,” said Jack Scoville, vice president at Chicago-based Price Futures Group.

Scoville added that demand for US cotton has been pretty good, but that Omicron, as well as the Delta variant, were starting to lead to lockdowns again and “it’s kind of put the fear of God into a lot of these markets.”

Sentiment in financial markets remained fragile as many European nations weigh the possibility of restrictions during Christmas to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Oil prices slumped more than 5% as the variant’s rapid spread clouds the fuel demand outlook. Lower oil prices make polyester, a substitute for cotton, less expensive.

Speculators cut net long positions in cotton futures by 1,498 contracts to 69,214 in the week to Dec. 14, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed on Friday.

Total futures market volume fell by 4,609 to 12,980 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 205 to 233,593 contracts in the previous session

The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 17300 per maund. Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 245 per kg.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021