Volume of business dropped on the cotton market on Saturday as ginners preferred to be sidelined due to depleted stock with them and likely delay in new crop, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 5450, dealers said. In the ready session, approximately, 2000 bales changed hands between Rs 3750-5550, they said. Seed cotton rates in Sindh were unchanged at Rs 2000-2600 and in Punjab prices registered at Rs 2400-3100, they said.
Market sources said that limited unsold stock of lint cotton and delay in the arriving of next crop which will not be reaching ginneries before last week of July is a basic factor behind the uncertainties among spinners. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman, on the other hand said that depleted stocks left with ginners, anticipating of getting higher prices, striving to increase asking prices, which caused decline in daily-intake.
Reuters adds: ICE cotton futures rose in light volume to their highest levels in more a week and a half on Friday, as a weaker dollar discouraged speculators from getting out of long positions amid an absence of commercial selling. "The longs are sitting tight at the moment," said Peter Egli, director of risk management at British merchant Plexus Cotton Ltd. "There's not enough new selling coming in. The trade is already short and the (speculators) don't want to liquidate yet."
Cotton contracts for July settled up 0.31 cent on Friday, a 0.5 percent gain, at 66.84 cents per pound. It traded within a range of 66.11 cents and 66.87 cents a pound, the highest level for the front-month since May 6. Total futures market volume fell by 5,906 to 14,574 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 752 to 192,920 contracts in the previous session. The following deals reported: 200 bales of cotton from Multan (low quality) at Rs 3750, same figure from Vebari (low quality) sold at Rs 4000, 600 bales from Khanpur at Rs 5180, 400 bales from Bahawalpur at Rs 5400 and 500 bales from Alipur at Rs 5550, they said.
===========================================================================
The KCA Official Spot Rate for Local Dealings in Pakistan Rupees
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR BASE GRADE 3 STAPLE LENGTH 1-1/32"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICRONAIRE VALUE BETWEEN 3.8 TO 4.9 NCL
===========================================================================
Rate Ex-Gin Upcountry Spot Rate Spot Rate Difference
For Price Ex-Karachi Ex. KHI. As Ex-Karachi
on 15.05.2015
===========================================================================
37.324 Kgs 5,450 150 5,600 5,600 NIL
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equivalent
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Kgs 5,841 160 6,001 6,001 NIL
===========================================================================