LAHORE: The local cotton market on Saturday remained steady and the trading volume remained low. The Spot rate remained unchanged.
Cotton Analyst Nasseem Usman while talking to Business Recorder said that price of Punjab’s Phutti attracted per 40 kilograms prices from Rs 6500 to Rs 8900. Cotton of Sindh was traded from Rs 15500 to Rs 20,000 per maund, Punjab’s cotton was traded from Rs 16500 to Rs 20,000 per maund.
He also told that ICE cotton futures were set for their first week of declines in nine on Friday, hit by a higher U.S. ending stocks estimate by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a weak export sales report.
The front-month contract on ICE futures for March was little changed at 125.84 cents per lb by 12:20 p.m. EST. The contract has declined nearly 0.7% so far this week.
“It just looks like we’re congesting a little bit. We’ve seen a lot of news this week with the WASDE report out on Wednesday and the export sales report out yesterday,” said Jack Scoville, vice president at Chicago-based Price Futures Group.
The market action in cotton has been correcting back down a little bit, but it’s still stuck in a range trade, he added. In its February World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, the USDA raised U.S. ending stocks estimates for the 2021/22 crop year and projected a decline in the country’s exports.
On Thursday, a federal weekly export sales report showed net sales of 185,200 running bales of cotton for 2021/2022, down 44% from the previous week and 47% from the prior four-week average.
Meanwhile, the dollar was on track for a weekly gain. A stronger greenback makes cotton more expensive for other currency holders. Chicago soybean futures edged up on Friday to stay on course for a fourth weekly gain, underpinned by drought-curbed harvest prospects in South America.
Total futures market volume fell by 11,193 to 13,706 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 1,802 to 253,790 contracts in the previous session. The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 20, 200 per maund. Fiber was available at Rs 263 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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