Growing fears of pest attack pushed rates higher on the cotton market on Friday in the process of trading, dealers said. The official spot rate rose by Rs 50 to Rs 5,650, they added. In the session, nearly 10,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 5700 and Rs 5800, they said. In Sindh, rates of seed cotton improved at Rs 2650 and Rs 2750, in Punjab prices were at Rs 2400 and Rs 2750, they said.
Commenting on the impact of monsoon rains on the standing crop, cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that directives have been issued to the growers since the rains started in the country. High moisture and stagnant water in the field likely to hit quality of cotton and quantity, as well, he said. Other experts said that activity may not pick up as the growers raised asking price to earn better return.
Reuters adds: Cotton futures reversed earlier losses and jumped to an eight-week high on Thursday after the US government cut its US output forecast more than expected. The most-active December cotton contract on ICE Futures US rose as high as 68.18 cents following the US Agriculture Department's (USDA) monthly supply-demand forecast.
The contract settled up 0.95 cent, or 1.4 percent, at 68.09 cents a lb, booking a fourth straight daily gain. The USDA cut its forecast for domestic production by almost 1 million bales to 16.5 million 480-lb bales, sparking a short-covering rally that was exaggerated by buy-stops. The following deals reported: 400 bales of cotton from Khipro at Rs 5700, 600 bales from Hyderabad at Rs 5700, 800 bales from Mirpurkhas at Rs 5700, 1000 bales from Tando Adam at Rs 5700-5725, 1600 bales from Shahdadpur at Rs 5700-5725, 2000 bales from Sanghar at Rs 5700-5725, 400 bales from Hasilpur at Rs 5725, 400 bales from Haroonabad at Rs 5725, 200 bales from Mian Chano at Rs 5740, 200 bales from Dera Ghazi Khan at Rs 5750, 200 bales from Multan at Rs 5750, 200 bales from Chichawatni at Rs 5750, 2400 bales from Burewala at Rs 5750, 400 bales from Mianwali at Rs 5750-5800 and 1000 bales from Khanewal at Rs 5750-5800, they 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"
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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 11.09.2014
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37.324 Kgs 5,650 150 5,800 5,750 +50
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Equivalent
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40 Kgs 6,055 160 6,215 6,162 +53
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