KARACHI: Trading on the cotton market was lacklustre on Thursday as leading spinners took to the sidelines. The undertone remained easy and uncertain.

Floor brokers said the energy crisis and gas shortage in Punjab was keeping buyers away from the cotton market. Moreover, the falling prices of man-made fibre were also diverting buyers’ interest from cotton, they added.

The slow off-take of cotton yarn and dumping of yarn from India in the domestic market are other negative factors dampening the market sentiment.

The New York cotton for second consecutive session moved higher where all the futures closed with fresh modest gains.

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

Major deals finalised on ready counter were: 300 bales Mehrabpur at Rs4,500, 710 bales Moro at Rs4,600, 200 bales Layyah at Rs4,650, 400 bales Mianwali at Rs4,850 to Rs4,950, 400 bales Bahawalpur at Rs4,900 and 1,200 bales Rahimyar Khan at Rs4,900.

The following are Thursday’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, January 30th, 2015

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