KARACHI: Diminishing cotton stocks in the country induced strong demand from spinners which pushed the commodity’s prices higher on Wednesday.

However, floor brokers said activity could not pick up as many ginners were reluctant to dispose of their stocks anticipating higher prices.

The arrival of the next crop would be late by at least four weeks as early sowing of cotton for the new season could not be done in Punjab due to long spell of rain, while it has just started in Sindh.

According to market estimates, the country has around 450,000 bales in stocks at present. Consequently, the textile industry has to face a gap of three months till the arrival of new crop.

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

The following deals were reported to have changed hands on ready counter: 200 bales from Hasilpur done at Rs4,400, 400 bales Jalalpur at Rs5000, 600 bales Kabbirwala at Rs5275 and 600 bales Mianwali at Rs5300.

The New York cotton recovered overnight losses on renewed buying from exporters.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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