KARACHI: Cotton prices moved up on Wednesday due to higher demand from spinners and some exporters.

Arrival of phutti (seed cotton) from Punjab improved availability of quality cotton, attracting strong buying and increasing trading volume.

Phutti prices went up, with Sindh quality was being quoted at Rs2,800-2,900 and Punjab variety in the range of Rs2,800-3,050 per 40kg.

The current cotton prices are fairly attractive to spinners who could sell their yarn at competitive edge in the domestic and international markets.

According to market re­­ports, by and large the cotton crop remained safe from any major pest attacks which normally happen in September.

Barring a few scattered incidents of Pink Bollworm attacks in lower Sindh and some parts of Punjab, the crop remained healthy and as per estimates its size is being placed at 13 million bales.

The world leading cotton markets also closed firm and no major setback was reported from anywhere. However, there was some profit selling at lower level on New York cotton market.

The Karachi Cotton Asso­ciation (KCA) spot rates were firm at overnight level.

The following major deals were reported on Wednesday: 3,000 bales, Tando Adam, at Rs5,875 to Rs6,000; 1,200 bales, San­ghar, at Rs5,900 to Rs5,950; 2,000 bales, Shahdadpur, at Rs5,900 to Rs5,950; 1,000 bales, Nawabshah, at Rs6,100 to Rs6,125; 3,000 bales, Khairpur, at Rs6,150 to Rs6,175; 2,000 bales, Rohri, at Rs6,125 to Rs6,200; 1,600 bales, Saleh Pat, at Rs6,125 to Rs6,200; 1,600 bales, Haroonabad, at Rs6,150 to Rs6,200; 1,400 bales, Hasilpur, at Rs6,150 to Rs6,250; 1,400 bales, for Abbas, at Rs6,175 to Rs6,200; 1,000 bales, Ahmedpur, at Rs6,225; 1,200 bales, Chichawatni, at Rs6,225 to Rs6,250; 600 bales, Mian Chano, at Rs6,250; and 600 bales, Mianwali, at Rs6,175 to Rs6,200.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2017