KARACHI: Cotton prices extended loss on Saturday because of renewed selling pressure influenced by falling world cotton prices and partly by higher arrivals of phutti (seed cotton).

Buying from spinners remained slow compared to general trend witnessed at this stage of the season. Reports of rains in Punjab have been taken as a positive development because it will help to kill whitefly recently noticed on cotton crop, brokers added.

The global cotton markets were also under pressure led by New York cotton which lost around 1.5 US cents per lb in a single day.

The ongoing crisis in the textile industry is also having its toll on cotton prices, but recent trend of the domestic market was being influenced more by world cotton markets, brokers said.

Market analysts fear that if the current crisis in the textile industry was not resolved by the government it may not only result in more closure of units but would also adversely affect exports which are already falling rapidly, they added.

The Karachi Cotton Association cut its spot rate by Rs100 to RS6,150 per maund (around 37 kilograms).

Major deals on the ready counter were: 1,000 bales from Hyderabad (Rs5,050 to Rs6,100), 2,400 bales Tando Adam (Rs6,050 to Rs6,150), 2,000 bales Shahdadpur (Rs6,050 to Rs6,150), 1,000 bales Nawabshah (Rs6,200 to Rs6,250), 3,000 bales Khairpur (Rs6,250 to Rs6,300), 1,000 bales Mianwali (Rs6,300), 1,700 bales Haroonabad (Rs6,300 to Rs6,400), 1,000 bales Burewala (Rs6,350), 200 bales Chichawatni (Rs6,390) and 200 bales Fazilpur (Rs6,400).

Published in Dawn September 25th, 2016