Listless business on cotton market

LAHORE: The local market on Thursday remained steady and the trading volume remained low. Cotton Analyst Naseem Usman told that rate of cotton in Punjab and Sindh is in between Rs 22000 to Rs 23,000 per maund.

ICE cotton futures rose more than 1% on Wednesday on mill fixations as it tracked a rebound across broader commodity markets.

Cotton contracts for July rose 1.92 cent, or 1.40%, to 138.87 cents per lb, as of 01:25 p.m. ET (17:25 GMT). It traded within a range of 137.07 and 139.41 cents a lb.

“We’re seeing a bit of mill fixations, said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management associate at StoneX Group. “Hopefully, the easing of lockdowns in China could bring back a bit more demand,” Thomen added. China is a top buyer of US cotton.

Adding to cotton’s support, the prices of corn, soybeans and oil also rose in a commodities rebound, boosting sentiment.

China cotton futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange were up 0.62 % to 20,370 yuan per tonne.

Total futures market volume fell by 24,997 to 14,821 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 1,183 to 211,503 contracts in the previous session.

The Spot Rate remained unchanged at Rs 21000 per maund. The Polyester Fiber was available at Rs 310 per kg.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022