KARACHI: The cotton prices maintained rising trend for the third day in a row on Wednesday on fears of short crop amid mounting uncertainty on the global front.

Spinners’ chase for quality cotton, which was still in short supply, pushed lint prices further higher on each bout of buying and selling and at one stage it touched peak level of Rs9,000 per maund, brokers said.

The official cotton spot rates were revised upward by Rs150 per maund taking the total increase of Rs450 in the three-day run-up.

Both the Sindh and Punjab varieties recorded fresh gains as buyers covered up the position to meet their near-future requirements, they added.

The world leading cotton markets gave mixed trend with New York Cotton Exchange after recording gains for last three sessions came under profit selling. The Chinese and Indian markets were mixed to steady.

The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) raised its spot rates by Rs150 for the third consecutive day to Rs8,650 per maund.

The following major deals were reported to have changed hands on the ready counter: 2,200 bales, Shahdadpur, at Rs7,800 to Rs8,000; 2600 bales, Tando Adam, at Rs7,900 to Rs8,200; 1,400 bales, Sanghar, at Rs7,750 to Rs7,900; 1,200 bales, Nawabshah, at Rs8,300; 1,800 bales, Khairpur, at Rs8,600 to Rs8,650; 1,600 bales, Saleh Pat, at Rs8,600 to Rs8,675; 100 bales, Khanewal, at Rs8,775 to Rs9,000; 2,600 bales, Sadiqabad, at Rs8,750 to Rs8,850; 1,800 bales, Haroonabad, at Rs8,750; 2,000 bales, Rajanpur, at Rs8,750 to Rs8,850; and 400 bales, Kasowal, at Rs8,750.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2019