KARACHI: Sustained demand for quality lint pushed prices higher on the cotton market on Wednesday.

Spinners and some exporters kept looking for quality lint, but short supply and unwillingness on the part of ginners to sell surged prices beyond Rs5,000 mark.

Floor brokers said that slow arrivals of phutti (seed cotton) because of heavy fog in the Punjab also generated some buying from needy millers. Consequently, the market remained fairly steady.

Phutti prices rose by Rs100 due to short supply. Market reports suggest that cotton production this season would easily touch 15 million bales.

As for world markets, New York cotton came under pressure ahead of long Christmas and New Year closure.

The Karachi Cotton Association’s (KCA) left its spot rates unchanged.

The following major deals were finalised on ready counter: 3,000 bales Khairpur at Rs4,600-4,700, 800 bales Salehput at Rs4,700, 1,200 bales Hasilpur at Rs4,650-4,800, 1,000 bales Noorpur at Rs4,800-4,900, 1,000 bales Haroonabad at Rs4,800, 1,000 bales Bahawalpur at Rs4,800, 800 bales Alipur at Rs4,800, 2,000 bales Rahimyar Khan at Rs4,900-5,000, 2,000 bales Sadiqabad at Rs4,950-5,000, 3,000 bales Khanpur at Rs4,950-5,100, 1,200 bales Rajanpur at Rs5,000 and 1,000 bales Mianwali at Rs5,000-5,025.

The following are Wednesday’s new crop Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) official spot rates for local dealings in Pak rupees for base grade 3 staple length 1-1/16” micronair value between 3.8 to 4.9 NCL.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2014