KARACHI, Oct 8: Brisk trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Saturday as spinners and mills continued to cover their forward positions against foreign sales, maintaining a creeping rally for the third session in a row.
Unlike the previous sessions, mills demand showed a significant increase, partly on reports pertaining to end of loadshedding, which would add to the mills intake and partly to rumours of a sharp cut in the discount rate by the central bank.
The price flare-up was, however, orderly and did not reflect panic mills buying, although big lots were traded from some of the fine lots arriving from the upper Sindh ginneries, floor brokers said.
Most of the deals were quality-based as some of the lots from the southern Punjab cotton belt were finalised as higher as Rs6,500 per maund, they said.
A difference of Rs1,000 per maund between the lower and higher prices at Rs5,500 and Rs6,500 indicates the quality perception of buyers, ginners said.
Official spot rates further increased by another Rs100 per muand at Rs6,300. It was the third upward revision for the third consecutive session.
New York cotton futures on the other hand remained under speculative selling and were quoted lower by 0.77 and 0.75 cents at 101.48 and 101.98 for both the ruling October and forward December contracts, respectively.
The following are some notable deals reported by the Karachi Brokers Forum on Saturday:
SINDH TYPE: 2,000 and 1,000 bales, Khairpur and upper Sindh at Rs6,250 to Rs6,300, 200 bales, Nawabshah at Rs5,650, 200 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs5,900 and 200 bales, Khipro at Rs5,500.
PUNJAB VARIETY: 600 bales each, Rahimyar Khan at Rs6,200 to Rs6,500 and Rs6,400 to Rs6,500, 1,000 bales, Rajanpur, 400 bales each, Shadan Lund, Kabirwala, Haroonabad and Khanewal at Rs6,400, 200 bales, Faiqirwali at Rs6,350, 800 bales, Burewala at Rs6,350 to Rs6,400, 200 bales, each Deepalpur, Jampur and Tiba Sultan at Rs6,300, 200 bales, DG Khan and Qureshipur at Rs6,275, 600 bales, Layyah at Rs6,275 to Rs6,300, 200 bales, each Garma Raja and Kharor Pacca at Rs6,250, 1,000 bales, Chichawatni at Rs6,200 to Rs6,300, 1,000 and 400 bales, Vehari and Mian Channu at Rs6,100 to Rs6,300 and Rs6,125 to Rs6,210.