KARACHI: Frenzied buying pushed cotton prices to a new seasonal high of Rs7,300 per maund on Wednesday. Overall, the undertone was strong and underlying sentiment highly aggressive.

There seemed to be no respite in panic buying from needy spinners, which turned the market highly volatile. With the US dollar gaining strength against Pak rupee, panic buying was witnessed.

Buyers chased quality cotton and there were instances that even second-grade cotton came under strong demand. This indicated that spinners feared paying more for imported cotton due to a steep fall in rupee value against the dollar.

The scope of importing cotton from India was also not free of risk after Indian crop suffered severe damage due to a pest attack.

Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) further revised spot rates upwards at Rs6,800 per maund which also stood season’s highest.

Leading cotton markets closed easy, with New York and Chinese cotton markets all around lower. However, Indian cotton was firm.

The following major deals were reported to have materialised on ready counter: 1,400 bales, Daharki, at Rs7,200 to Rs7,250; 600 bales, Ghotki, at Rs7,200 to Rs7,250; 2,000 bales, Saleh Pat, at Rs6,700 to Rs6,800; 2,400 bales, Rohri, at Rs6,700 to Rs6,800; 1,000 bales, Shahdadpur, at Rs6,200; 1,000 bales, Sanghar, at Rs6,100 to Rs6,200; 2,000 bales, Khairpur, at Rs6,650 to Rs6,800; 3,400 bales, Khanpur, at Rs7,200; 600 bales, Dera Ghazi Khan, at Rs7,090; 2,400 bales, Rahimyar Khan, at Rs7,100 to Rs7,200; and 600 bales, Liaquatpur, at Rs7,150.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2017