KARACHI: Amid selective buying interest for quality cotton, prices remained under pressure on Friday in line with global trend.
The Trading Corporation of Pakistan’s (TCP) procurement drive which entered into purchasing stage has also failed to buoy lint prices which have gone much below Rs5,000 mark a maund, brokers said.
According to reports, the TCP has so far purchased around 3,000 cotton bales from ginners after entering into contracts for over 390,000 bales. However, assurance given by the commerce minister on the floor of the National Assembly the other day to purchase one million cotton bales failed to induce sentiment.
Analyst Naseem Usman said cotton trading cannot be done in isolation from the international trend as it is a global commodity.
He added that most cotton-growing countries including India and Pakistan are expecting bumper cotton crops this season. Besides, little buying of cotton by China which had been a major player in world cotton economy is equally having its toll on prices.
The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates were steady at previous level.
The following major deals were reported to have changed hands on ready counter: 1,000 bales Khairpur at Rs4,590 to Rs4,660, 1,000 bales upper Sindh at Rs4,850 to Rs4,900, 1,400 bales Burewala at Rs4,750, 2,400 bales Bahawalpur at Rs4,950 to Rs5,050, 1,000 bales Ahmedpur at Rs5,000, 2,000 bales Layyah at Rs5,000, 2,000 bales Rahimyar Khan at Rs5,000 to Rs5,050, 1,000 bales Sadiqabad at Rs5,000, 2,000 bales Khanpur at Rs5,025 to Rs5,050, 1,400 bales Fazilpur at Rs5,025 to Rs5,100, 1,200 bales Rajanpur at Rs5,025, 1,000 bales Mianwali at Rs5,100 to Rs5,115 and 800 bales Maroot at Rs4,850.
The following are Friday’s new crop Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) official spot rates for local dealings in Pak rupees for base grade 3 staple length 1-1/32” micronair value between 3.8 to 4.9 NCL.
Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2014