Cautious buying was witnessed on the cotton market on Thursday ahead of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association (PCGA) report, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 6650, dealers said. In Sindh, seed cotton prices were at Rs 3200-3550, they said. In Punjab, phutti rates recovered more Rs 50 to Rs 3300 and Rs 3850, as per 40 kg, they added.
In the ready session, over 2,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 6300 and Rs 7000, they said.
According to market sources, some needy buyers managed to finalise deals of some hundred bales of cotton at higher rates as they were not ready to take futures risk due to rising cotton prices in the world market.
So much hurdles causing after tensions at border, local cotton importers were not able to buy cotton from India to keep a balance between demand and supply. Earlier it was supposed that if tensions eased, Pak importers may be able to buy Indian cotton, but, it looks more difficult because, presently, India is facing a kind of shortage problem, resulting prices were going up, as well.
Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman, said that the ginners were satisfied with the present trend in the market, because they are raising asking prices of lint cotton.
Adds Reuters: Cotton futures rose two percent on Wednesday and surged to a near six-month high, buoyed by fund buying and expectations of rise in purchases ahead of the expiry of March contract fixation.
The March cotton contract on ICE Futures US hit a session high of $76.56, the highest since August 9.
The following deals reported: 400 bales from Sultanabad at Rs 6300, 400 bales from Punjmoro at Rs 6300 and 1400 bales from Bahawalpur at Rs 6650/7000, 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 1-1/16"
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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    Expenses    Ex-Karachi  Ex. KHI, As   Ex-Karachi
                                                  on 01-02-2017   in Rupees
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37.324 kg         6,650      135        6,785         6,785             NIL
Equivalent
40 kgs            7,127      145        7,272         7,272             NIL
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