The rates were firm on the cotton market on Saturday in the process of modest trading, dealers said. The official spot rate did not show any change at Rs 5,650 dealers said. In the Punjab, prices showed no change at Rs 3100 and Rs 3400, they said. In the ready business, around 2000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 4475-6000, they said.
According to the market sources said that mills and spinners were interested in fresh buying but the ginners were not ready to oblige them due to short stock of unsold lint cotton. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that it is not very surprising that despite downward trend in the global market, the rates in the local markets are firm due to strong demand.
The ginners, who were expecting to gain profit as much as they can, so how they can miss the chance of better earning, asking higher prices instead of making deals with the mills and spinners, experts said.
Reuters adds: Cotton futures snapped a three-day losing streak, helped by gains in commodities, to settle marginally higher or little changed on Friday in cautious trading ahead of the release of key government data next week. The July cotton contract on ICE Futures US registered the biggest weekly loss in over two months. The monthly US government supply and demand report due on Tuesday is "generally expected to be more bearish than bullish," said Louis Rose, independent cotton trader and consultant with Risk Analytics in Memphis, Tennessee.
Speculators raised their net long positions in cotton by 1,612 lots to 30,397 lots in the week to May 3, in the biggest bullish bet on the fiber since mid-January, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. The July cotton contract on ICE Futures US settled up 0.04 cent, or 0.06 percent, at 61.83 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 61.66 and 62.2 cents a lb. The following deals reported: 1000 bales of cotton from Shahdadpur at Rs 4475, 200 bales from Bahawalpur at Rs 5375, same figure from Layah at Rs 5400 and 400 bales from Rajanpur at Rs 6000, dealers said.
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The KCA Official Spot Rate for Local Dealings in Pakistan 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 6-05-2016
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37.324 kg 5,650 135 5,785 5,735 NIL
Equivalent
40 kgs 6,055 145 6,200 6,200 NIL
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