KARACHI: Cotton prices moved higher on sustained buying from spinners and some exporters of Thursday. Steady flow of buying orders kept pouring throughout the session and pushed prices higher.

Floor brokers said higher arrivals of phutti (seed cotton) ensuring availability of quality cotton continued to attract buyers who eagerly replenished their stocks.

Punjab variety was being quoted in the range of Rs3,100 to Rs3,250 per 40 kilograms and Sindh’s in the range of Rs2,800 to Rs3,150.

Meanwhile, world cotton markets generally remained steady. The New York market recovered overnight losses and Indian cotton also stood firm. However, the Chinese cotton market was under pressure.

According to reports, the Indian government has asked the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) not to procure cotton at minimum support price because this policy incurred huge losses to the state-owned corporation last year. Analysts believe this would depress cotton prices in India in the coming days.

In Pakistan, high flow of phutti of around 150,000 bales per day is estimated to add up to around two million more bales by the end of the current fortnight, ie Oct 15 to 30. It is being said that higher arrival was quite encouraging because so far the crop was still short over the last year.

The Karachi Cotton Association spot rates were steady at overnight level. Major deals on the ready counter were: 1,200 bales from Sanghar (Rs5,750 to Rs58,50), 1,200 bales Shahdadpur (Rs5,775 to Rs5,925), 1,400 bales Tando Adam (Rs5,775 to Rs5,925), 1,000 bales Hala (Rs6,000 to Rs6,100), 1,400 bales Hala (Rs6,000 to Rs6,100), 4,400 bales Khairpur (Rs6,200 to Rs6,250), 2,400 bales Rohri (Rs6,200 to Rs6,250), 2,400 bales Saleh Pat (Rs6,200 to Rs6,250), 400 bales Bahawalpur (Rs6,300 to Rs6,350), 2,000 bales Rajanpur (Rs6,300), 2,000 bales Haroonabad (Rs6,257 to Rs6,300), 2,000 bales Ahmedpur (Rs6,275 to Rs6,300), 1,800 bales Alipur (Rs6,275 to Rs6,300) and 1,000 bales Chichawatni (Rs6,275 to Rs6,300).

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016