Selective buying was seen on the cotton market on Saturday as buyers became cautioned about quality and rates, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 8,600, they added. In the ready session, approximately 2000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 7400-8775, they said. Prices of seed cotton in Sindh and Balochistan were at Rs 3000-3500 and in Punjab seed cotton prices at Rs 3000-3600, they said.
Market sources said that some mills and spinners showed interest in fresh buying of cotton but most of them were keen to get better variety at the cheaper rates. Cotton analyst Naseem Usman said that during the week, cotton market received strength from reports that the US-China trade negotiations moving in a positive direction and expectedly settlement is likely to be reached in the near future.
Adds Reuters: ICE cotton futures were little changed on Friday ahead of a three-day long US holiday weekend, as traders kept a close watch on the progress in US-China trade talks. The most active cotton contract on ICE Futures US, the March contract, settled up 0.09 cent, or 0.13 percent, at 70.22 cents per lb.
Total futures market volume fell by 12,018 to 35,333 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 2,724 to 238,751 contracts in the previous session. The following deals reported: 200 bales of cotton from Haroonabad at Rs 7400, 200 bales from Faqeerwali at Rs 7700, 400 bales from Fort Abbas at Rs 8000, 200 bales from Mianwali at Rs 8050 and 1000 bales from Khanpur at Rs 8775, 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 15-02-2019
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37.324 kg          8,600      160        8,760         8,760            NIL
Equivalent
40 kgs             9,217      171        9,388         9,388            NIL
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