Slight improvement was seen on the cotton market on Tuesday as needy mills showed some buying interest to meet their immediate needs, dealers said. Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 12,500, they said. In Sindh and Punjab phutti price of low type was at Rs 4000 and superior type also unchanged at Rs 5000, they said.
In ready business nearly 7000 bales changed hands between Rs 10750-14500 (three-month credit), they added. Some brokers said that mills and spinners were little active to cover their immediate needs, but most of them were still hoping for decline in the rates as prices were coming down in the international market. According to a report, China imported 276,400 tonnes of cotton in March, down 15 percent from the same period last year, an industry website said on Tuesday, citing Customs data.
The March imports were up 50 percent, or 92,200 tonnes more from February, according to a report on a website under China National Cotton Reserves Corp, www.cncotton.com. Domestic cotton arrivals in Indian spot markets till April 10 in the 2010/11 season edged up 1.1 percent on year, the state-run Cotton Corp of India said on Tuesday.
Arrivals as on April 10 stood at 27.3 million bales of 170 kg each, compared with 27 million bales a year ago, the government body said on its website. On Monday the US cotton futures rebounded to a firm close on investor short-covering as fibre contracts recouped the losses posted late last week, analysts said.
The key May cotton contract on ICE Futures US gained 1.61 cents to settle at $2.0458 per lb, trading from $1.9935 to $2.0773. The new-crop December cotton contract went up 1.10 cents to close at $1.3918. Total volume traded in the cotton market was around 26,100 lots, about five percent above the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters preliminary data showed. The following deals were reported: nearly 1300 bales of cotton from Tando Adam sold at Rs 10750, 5000 bales of cotton from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 14500 (three-month credit) and 400 bales from Liquatpur at Rs 12500, they added.
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The KCA Official Spot Rate for Local Dealings in Pak Rupees
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FOR BASE GRADE 3 STAPLE LENGTH 1-1/32"
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MICRONAIRE VALUE BETWEEN 3.8 TO 4.9 NCL
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Rate Ex-Gin Upcountry Spot Rate Spot Rate Difference
For Price Ex-Karachi Ex. KHI. As Ex-Karachi
on 11.04.2011
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37.324 Kgs 12,500 120 12,620 12,620 NIL
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Equivalent
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40 Kgs 13,396 120 13,516 13,516 NIL
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