KARACHI: Cotton prices soared to a seasonal high for new crop on Thursday as panicked spinners continued to book big-lot deals to meet their rising demand amid improved exports.

Influenced by global factors of a big gap between demand and supply, the local market also remained highly volatile as slow arrivals of phutti (seed cotton) failed to meet a surge in cotton demand from spinners, brokers said.

Most deals in Sindh variety cotton were transpired at Rs6,350 per maund (around 38 kilograms) and that of Punjab quality at Rs6,400 per maund.

However, stakeholders are irked by the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) for not fixing cotton spot rates in line with current ready counter trend because they believe this distorted the market price-line.

Naseem Usman, chairman of the Karachi Cotton Brokers Association, told Dawn the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, cotton growers and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association have urged the KCA to either change its price fixing formula or at least relate the spot rates with high-grade cotton, which is mostly available at the start of a season, rather than fixing it at lower-grade cotton rates.

The KCA raised its spot rate by Rs150, to Rs6,000 per maund.

However, prices on ready counter were generally quoted over Rs6,400. Major deals were: 1,200 bales from Mirpur Khas (at Rs6,200 to Rs6,300), 1,000 bales Shahdadpur (Rs6,200 to Rs6,300), 2,600 bales Tando Adam (Rs6,200 to Rs6,350), 1,600 bales Sanghar (Rs6,200 to Rs6,350), 1,000 bales Hyderabad (Rs6,250 to Rs6,350), 200 bales Pak Pattan (Rs6,400), 200 bales Mian Channu (Rs6,400) and 200 bales Chichawatni (Rs6,400).

The world cotton markets also remained volatile.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2016