Trade activity improved on the cotton market on Monday as mills indulged in fresh buying of cotton after observing two days local holidays, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 8,600, they added. In the ready session, over 12000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 7700-8800, they said. Prices of seed cotton in Sindh were at Rs 3000-3500, in Punjab seed cotton prices at Rs 3000-3600 and in Balochistan prices were at Rs 3200-3500, they said.
According to the market sources, mills took interest in fresh purchasing of cotton to meet their immediate needs. They said that surge in the dollar's value could be a factor behind the strong demand, it is most likely that slight rise in demand may help cotton market to maintain present levels.
Cotton analyst Naseem Usman said that unsold stock of cotton is diminishing, so it seems cotton prices keep present levels, he also said that prices moved both ways in the international markets. The following deals reported: 600 bales of cotton from Rajanpur at Rs 8800, 200 bales from Lodhran at Rs 8750, 1400 bales from Alipur at Rs 8700/8800, 200 bales from Tonsa Shareef at Rs 8600, 4000 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 8750/8800, 400 bales from Hasilpur at Rs 8575, 600 bales from Haroonabad at Rs 7700, 1700 bales from Bahawalpur at Rs 7800, 3000 bales from Khanpur at Rs 8000 and 200 bales from Sadiqabad at Rs 8750, 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"
                                    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 22-03-2019
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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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