KARACHI: Cotton prices rose for the fourth consecutive session on Monday to touch a seasonal high of Rs7,000 per maund (around 38 kilograms) as panic buying from spinners continued.

Spinners seem to be in a hurry to replenish their stocks amid fear of rain and short supply of phutti (seed cotton), floor brokers said.

An uptrend on world cotton markets against the backdrop of higher consumption and less production estimates was also impacting the domestic market, brokers said.

Some deals were reported to have been quoted even above Rs7,000 per maund towards the closing stages of the trading session on Monday.

Cotton analyst Naseem Usman said that possible heavy downpour in Punjab might damage cotton crop which had been already cultivated on a less area. Besides, many growers have shifted to sugarcane which was a hassle-free crop compared to cotton.

The Karachi Cotton Association raised its spot rate by Rs150, to Rs6,400 per maund, much below the prices in the ready market.

Major deals on the ready counter were: 200 bales from Kazi Ahmed (Rs6,500), 3,000 bales Sanghar (Rs6,600 to Rs6,700), 1,600 bales Shahdadpur (Rs6,650 to Rs5,700), 2,000 bales Mirpur Khas (Rs6,650 to Rs6,700), 2,000 bales Tando Adam (Rs6,650 to Rs6,750), 400 bales Burewala (Rs6,900 to Rs7,000), 600 bales Khanewal (Rs7,000) and 200 bales Alipur (Rs7,000).

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2016