KARACHI: Lacklustre conditions prevailed on the cotton market on Friday as buyers and sellers preferred to stay away from the trading ring, pushing down prices.

However, both official spot rates of cotton and phutti (seed cotton) prices remained firm. The spot rates were unchanged at Rs7,500 per maund while phutti prices ranged between Rs2,800 and 3,500 per 40 kg.

The delay in the issuance of statutory release order to withdraw duty and sales tax on import of cotton has kept spinners perplexed preventing them to turn to local market where quality is low while prices are high.

The world leading cotton markets remained firm under the lead of New York cotton which moved higher to touch peak level at 84.50 cents per lb. The Indian cotton also closed higher on gaining around Rs300 per candy (356kg).

The following deals were reported to have changed hands on the ready counter: 600, Jalalpur, at Rs7,500; 1000 bales, Yazman, at Rs7,650; 400 bales, Kach­iwala, at Rs6,800; and 600 bales, Haroonabad, at Rs6,825.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2018