KARACHI: Cotton prices moved higher on Thursday due to rising demand and short supply. In contrast, world’s leading cotton markets closed easy under the lead of New York cotton.

The Karachi Cotton Association also raised its spot rates by Rs50 per maund. According to some estimates, ginners are holding less than 150,000 bales from the current season crop and they seemed to be in a hurry to dispose of their stocks. However, there is a shortage of quality cotton which influenced some needy spinners who rushed to replenish their stocks, brokers said. The cotton trade would remain slow till the arrival of next crop, cotton analyst Naseem Usman said.

The world’s leading cotton markets closed easy under the lead of New York cotton where July contract lost 1.15 US cent per lb. The Chinese and Indian markets also closed easy. Major deals on the ready counter were: 200 bales from Khanpur at Rs7,075 per maund (around 37 kilograms) and 200 bales from Feroza at Rs7,075.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2017