KARACHI: Brisk buying pushed cotton prices to a six-year high level at Rs7,500 per maund on Friday. The undertone was highly volatile and outlook bright.

With the prospects of cotton imports diminishing due to steep fall in rupee value against dollar, spinners are trying to cover positions with local lint.

Spinners are perturbed due to pest attacks on Indian cotton, delay in import permission and poor lint quality.

Cotton prices in 2010-11 touched record level at Rs1,400 per maund, triggered by a surge in crude oil prices which totally upset world economies and resulted in price spiral of commodities the world over.

It is interesting to note that the New York cotton market – considered a barometer of world cotton trade – also touched historic peak level at $2.29 per lb. Prices are currently hovering around US74.13 cents to 75.97 cents per lb.

The rising cotton prices trend also influenced phutti (seed cotton), which rose to Rs2,800-Rs3,450 for Sindh variety and Rs2,800-3,500 for Punjab quality per 40kg.

The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates for the third consecutive session revised upwards by Rs100 to Rs6,950 per maund.

Most deals on the ready counter were of large scale and finalised at high rates, indicating that buyers were eager to get hold of maximum quantity of cotton.

The following deals were reported: 1,400 bales, Saleh Pat, at Rs6,850 to Rs7,000; 1,200 bales, Rohri, at Rs6,750 to Rs6,900; 1,400 bales, Khanpur Mehar, at Rs7,250 to Rs7,300; 2,200 bales, Liaquatpur, at Rs7,150 to Rs7,400; 400 bales, Rajanpur, at Rs7,500; 1,000 bales, Kot Sabzal, at Rs7,500; 3,200 bales, Rahimyar Khan, at Rs7,350 to Rs7,400; 1,200 bales, Shujabad, at Rs7,150 to Rs7,300; 2,000 bales, Bahawalpur, at Rs7,200; 1,600 bales, Ahmedpur East, at Rs7,100; 4,400 bales, Yazman, at Rs6,500 to Rs6,950; 1,200 bales, Chishtian, at Rs6,450 to Rs6,500; and 1,600 bales, Mianwali, at Rs6,500.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2017