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

It has been learnt that cotton have been cultivated over 3.6m acres across the Punjab, which is 90pc of the set target. Sources claimed that cotton sowing was still underway and added that target would be achieved easily due to availability of water.

Meanwhile, ICE cotton futures rose more than 3% on Wednesday as equity markets firmed and buyers took advantage of a recent price drop to buy the natural fiber.

Cotton contracts for July rose 4.15 cent, or 2.9%, at 145.69 cents per lb, at 12:04 p.m. ET (1604 GMT). Prices traded within a range of 140.75 and 147.14 cents a lb.

“We had a little bit of a sell-off overnight... The price rise could be a pick up in buying momentum, possibly from buyers who have found some technical support at these levels” said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management associate at StoneX Group. “We are also seeing some fixations that are happening as July (contract) is getting closer to expiration.”

ICE cotton futures slipped on Tuesday, pressured by demand concerns and rain in key West Texas growing regions, which could help boost supply.

US stock indexes shook off early weakness to trade higher on Wednesday as growth stocks rallied, with investors awaiting minutes from the Federal Reserve’s May meeting for clues on the path of its policy tightening.

Meanwhile, US wheat futures fell on Wednesday following reports that Russia was ready to provide humanitarian corridors for food shipments, while corn hovered near a six-week low as U.S. planting picked up and China allowed Brazilian corn imports.

Total futures market volume fell by 2,504 to 24,839 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 1,528 to 204,678 contracts in the previous session.

The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 21000 per maund. The Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 303 per kg.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022