KARACHI: The cotton market remained steady on the back of higher phutti (seed cotton) arrival figures and selective buying for quality lint from spinners and some exporters.

Floor brokers said higher phutti arrival figures of 14.7 million bales was a consoling factor for spinners and the textile industry.

They added that with current cotton import parity standing much higher than local prices was a disturbing factor for millers who were eager to see sustained supplies of cotton from domestic sources.

The average monthly cotton consumption by the spinning industry stands at 500,000 to 600,000 bales. This means sufficient supplies for cotton would be available for spinners.

The cotton yarn market is also showing some activity where buyers from the value-added textile and ancillary industry are booking larger stocks to meet their export orders.

The New York cotton market gave mixed trend where two maturing contracts closed easy while far-off future contracts recorded modest gains.

The Karachi Cotton Association’s (KCA) spot rates were unchanged.

Major deals finalised on ready counter were: 400 bales from Faqirwali done at Rs4,800, 1,000 bales Chicha­watni at Rs4,875 to Rs4,900, 400 bales Fort Abbas at Rs4,925, 600 bales Yazman Mandi at Rs5,100, 700 bales Alipur at Rs5,150, 400 bales Head Bakhani at Rs5,150, 1,200 bales Sadiqabad at Rs5,150 to Rs5,200, 200 bales Muhammadpur Dewan at Rs5,200 and 1,000 bales Rahimyar Khan at Rs5,200.

Published in Dawn March 4th , 2015

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