KARACHI: Cotton market on Thursday showed a steady trend as prices recovered from the recent lower levels on slow arrival of phutti into the ginneries.
Floor brokers said the market may not have slipped into the hands of growers, but in a way is setting the trend after regulating arrival of phutti into the ginneries, forestalling virtual dumping by their weaker links.
Spinners and mills seemed to have measured the depth of the developing situation on the price front and covered positions against their forward sales amid fears of a fresh price flare-up in the coming sessions, they said.
Market sources said some other factors, notably fresh increase in New York cotton futures also contributed to the return of a firm local market.
However, higher unsold stocks of lint totalling well over half a million bales would continue to have negative impact on the holding capacity of ginners, leading to fresh fall in the coming sessions, they said.
New York cotton futures settled well above the 100 cents per lb mark for both the ruling October and the forward December contracts at 102.75 and 102.30, up 1.83 and 0.43 cents, respectively.
Official spot rates were revised upward by Rs100 per maund at Rs6,100, but in the ready section fine lots were traded as higher as Rs6,300.
Mills off-take was fairly active and till late in the evening deals for about 10,000 bales, both from the Sindh and the Punjab ginneries, were reported by the Karachi Brokers’ Forum.
Some of the notable deals reported on Thursday were as under:
SINDH TYPE: 2,400 bales and 1,200 bales, Khairpur and upper Sindh at Rs6,100 to Rs6,200, 600 bales, Sakrand at Rs5,600, 200 bales, each Hala and Mirpurkhas at Rs5,500, 800 bales, Nawabshah at Rs5,500 to Rs5,800.
PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,200 bales, Chichawatni and 600 bales Multan at Rs6,000 to Rs6,300, 200 bales, each Gojra, Hasilpur and Bahawalnagar at Rs6,000, 400 bales, each and 200 bales each Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Khanpur, Ahmedpur East and Sahiwal at Rs6,100, 400 bales, Rahimyar Khan at Rs6,100 to Rs6,250, 200 bales, each Tandlianwala at Rs6,125, 200 bales, Patoki at Rs6,150, 600 bales, Burewala at Rs6,200 to Rs6,300, 200 bales, each Gaggon and Yazman at Rs6,200, 200 bales, Vehari at Rs6,250, 200 bales, Rajanpur, Tatey Pur and Mian Channu at Rs6,300.