Mills showed interest in fresh buying of cotton on the market on Tuesday to replenish their stock, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 8,700, they added. In the ready session, about 8000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 7800-8850, they said.
Prices of seed cotton in Sindh and Punjab were at Rs 3000-3700 and in Balochistan, rates of seed cotton were at Rs 3200-3700, they said.
Some brokers said that slight improvement was seen in economic activity in the country. There are higher anticipations that different packages and positive measures in the mini-budget announced by the government, likely to help reviving the business activity.
Commenting on the latest developments, cotton analyst Naseem Usman said that trading activity is picking up with gradual pace and it will continue in days to come.
Textile spinners are keenly awaiting Statutory Release Order (SRO) for allowing duty free import of cotton permitted by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).
Recently, the ECC meeting approved the withdrawal of customs duty, additional customs duty and sales tax on import of cotton effective 1st of February till 30th June 2019 to ensure sufficient supply of cotton for the industry.
Adds Reuters: ICE cotton futures fell on Monday as concerns over slowing Chinese economy rattled global equities and a drop in oil prices drove investors away from riskier assets.
The most active cotton contract on ICE Futures US-the March contract fell 0.60 cent, or 0.81 percent, at 73.53 cents per lb by 1:43 p.m. EST (1843 GMT). It traded within a range of 73.15 to 74.13 cents a lb.
Total futures market volume fell by 11,101 to 13,951 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 98 to 230,811 contracts in the previous session. Cotton prices moved both ways in the international markets, brokers said.
The following deals reported: 1000 bales of cotton from Moro at Rs 7800, 400 bales from Sakrand at Rs 8300, 1000 bales from Khairpur Mirus at Rs 8150, 1000 bales from Saleh Pat at Rs 8700, 2200 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 8700/8850, 800 bales from Rajanpur at Rs 8200/8800, 800 bales from Khanpur at Rs 8850, 200 bales from Liaquatpur at Rs 8000 and 400 bales from Burewala at Rs 7850, they 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 Ex-Karachi Ex. KHI. As Ex-Karachi
on 28-01-2019
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37.324 kg 8,700 160 8,860 8,860 NIL
Equivalent
40 kgs 9,324 171 9,495 9,495 NIL
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