Cautious buying was witnessed on the cotton market on Tuesday owing to acute shortage of quality lint, dealers said. The official spot rate maintained overnight level Rs8800, they added. In ready session, about 10,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs8100-9200, they said. Rates of seed cotton per 40kg in Sindh were at Rs2600-4300, in the Punjab prices were at Rs3500-4400 and in Balochistan, prices were at Rs3500-4300, they said.

In Sindh, Binola prices per maund were at Rs1400-1700, in Punjab and Balochistan rates were at Rs1500-1600, they said and adding that polyester fibre was available at Rs179 per kg. Market sources said that mills indulged in cautious buying of best quality cotton to meet their demand. In the meantime, the ginners were keen to sell cotton above the psychological levels, which looks some difficult, they observed.

Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that it is appeared that economy is improving with gradual pace, so both buyers and sellers were expecting that financial condition will also improve in the coming days. Furthermore, exports of yarn are not improving, this is a factor, which sometimes creating jitters among buyers, he said.

Adds Reuters: Cotton futures fell on Monday ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) supply and demand report, while lack of clear signs in US-China trade negotiations weighed on investor sentiment. Cotton contracts for March fell 0.49 cent, or 0.74%, to 65.51 cents per lb by 1:10 p.m. ET (1810 GMT). Total futures market volume fell by 11,920 to 22,458 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 455 to 196,834 contracts in the previous session.

The following deals reported: 800 bales of cotton from Ghotki at Rs9000, (Prime Cotton) 800 bales from Adilpur at Rs8900, 400 bales from Panu Aqil at Rs8900, 1200 bales from Khairpur at Rs8100/8500, 200 bales from Lodhran at Rs9200, 1400 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs8900/9000, 1400 bales from Sadiqabad at Rs9000, 1000 bales from Khanpur at Rs8900/9000, 200 bales from Melsi at Rs8990, 400 bales from Burewala at Rs8850, 1000 bales from Fort Abbas at Rs8400/8800 and 800 bales from Donga Bonga at Rs8400, 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  09-12-2019
===========================================================================
37.324 kg         8,800       160         8,960        8,960            NIL
Equivalent
40 kgs            9,431       171         9,602        9,602            NIL
===========================================================================