LAHORE: The local cotton market on Friday remained stable and trading volume remained low. Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told that the rate of cotton in Punjab and Sindh is in between Rs 18000 to Rs 21,000 per maund.

ICE cotton futures rose more than 1% on Thursday, driven by buying activity from mills while supply risks persist due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Cotton contracts for July rose 2.07 cent, or 1.47% at 142.75 cents per lb, at 1557 GMT. It traded within a range of 140.75 and 143.94 cents a lb, the highest since April 18.

“With not many July futures for sale, traders are buying at any offers resulting in frenzied mill-buying. The drought in West Texas is also supporting the market,” said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland, Mississippi.

The US Department of Agriculture’s weekly export sales report showed net sales of 121,100 running bales of cotton for 2021/2022 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 19%from the prior 4-week average.

The USDA figures are improved compared to last week, but shipments remain off pace to meet the USDA’s target, Louis Rose of Tennessee-based Rose Commodity Group wrote in a note.

Last session, ICE cotton futures jumped over 3% to trade limit up on Wednesday, boosted by prospects of risks to supply from unfavourable weather and solid demand, leading the daily price limit to be raised by 7 cents per pound.

Cotton’s rise also came despite a rally in the US dollar, which makes the commodity more expensive for overseas buyers.

In the wider grain market, Chicago corn futures edged up on Thursday to hold at a decade high as adverse weather for U.S. and Brazilian crops added to supply concerns generated by the war in Ukraine.

Total futures market volume fell by 13,621 to 16,692 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 1,699 to 204,045 contracts in the previous session.

The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 21000 per maund. Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 290 per kg.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022