KARACHI, Sept 6: The cotton market closed the weekend session on a firm note as private sector exporters and mills were not inclined to take even a technical breather.
“No one is inclined to miss the terribly liquid market and for good reasons too,” cotton analyst Naseem Usman said, adding “a strong whispering about the size of the new crop owing to damage caused by floods and rain in the Punjab keeps spinners and mills at their toes all the time”.
However, increased phutti arrivals into ginneries in August at 0.819m bales as compared to 0.682m bales the same month last year tells a different story, he added.
He said the increase may have been caused by the arrivals from the early sown crop in the central Punjab cotton belt as against its normal time.
However, the actual position about the size of the new crop will be known by early next month as by that time it would have braved all the threats to its size, he added.
Spinners and mills have purchased 0.640m bales of the new crop up to Aug 30, while 48,000 bales went to the credit of private sector exporters, who are currently aggressive buyers to take benefit from falling value of the rupee.
Some other analysts said the limit-fall in the New York cotton futures, which fell by 2.72 and 2.62 cents per lb for both ruling October and the forward December contracts at 63.26 and 65.84 cents, could take away the current price advantage from the local exporters as foreign buyers may opt for US lint.
Phutti rates in the Sindh cotton belt were quoted at Rs1,925 to Rs1,950 per 40 kg and that of Punjab type at Rs1,800 to Rs1,900.
Official spot rates were again firmly held at the last close of Rs4,125 per maund, although in Sindh some of the deals were done as high as Rs4,200 per maund for fine lint.
About 20,000 bales changed hands in the ready section, the following being some of the notable deals:
SINDH VARIETY: 2,600 and 1,000 bales, 400 bales each Jhole and Hala at Rs4,200, 1,600 bales, Sanghar at Rs4,175 to Rs4,200, 1,200 bales, Mirpurkhas and Sultanabad at Rs4,150 to Rs4,175 and 1,000 bales, Khipro at Rs4,175.
PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,000 bales, Bahawalnagar at Rs4,075 to Rs4,100, 1,000 bales, Gojra at Rs4,100 to Rs4,125, 1,000 bales, Sahiwal at Rs4,075 to Rs4,100, 600 bales, Burewala at Rs4,100, 1,000 bales, Pak Pattan at Rs4,025 to Rs4,050, 600 bales, Arifwala at Rs4,075 and 400 bales, Khanewal at Rs4,125.