LAHORE: The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Thursday increased the spot rate by Rs 300 per maund and closed it at Rs 17800 per maund. The market remained bullish and the trading volume remained low.
Cotton analyst Naseem Usman while talking to Business Recorder told that cotton will not be available in the Month of January. New crop of cotton will arrive in June. He also told that that price of Punjab’s Phutti attracted per 40 kilograms prices from Rs 6000 to Rs 8000.
Cotton of Sindh was traded from Rs 15000 to Rs 19000 per maund, Punjab’s cotton was traded from Rs 16000 to Rs 18500 per maund.
As many as 1200 bales of Dherki were sold at Rs 17800 to Rs 19000 per maund, 400 bales of Khan Pur Mehar were sold at Rs 18000 to Rs 18500 per maund, 1400 bales of Mir Pur Mathelo were sold at Rs 18000 per maund, 5000 bales of Rahim Yar Khan, 2000 bales of Sadiqabad were sold at Rs 18000 per maund and 400 bales of Chichatni were sold at Rs 17700 per maund.
ICE cotton futures rose over 3% to a one-month high on Wednesday, as a weaker US dollar made the natural fiber less expensive for overseas buyers. The cotton contract for March was up 3.65 cents, or 3.3%, at 113.70 cents per lb by 12:34 p.m. ET (1734 GMT), its highest level since Nov. 26. The dollar index was down 0.3% in thin holiday trading as investors looked beyond a surge in Omicron cases.
The weakness in the dollar is supporting cotton prices and there is further support from a strong stock market, said Keith Brown, principal at Keith Brown and Co in Georgia. “The price moves are also part of year-end volatility as trading is happening in very low volumes.”
The Dow index inched towards an all-time high on a boost from retailers Home Depot and Nike, while record daily US COVID-19 infections kept gains in check amid low trading volumes in the final week of the year. Investors now await the US Department of Agriculture’s weekly export sales report due on Thursday.
“Demand for US cotton is robust and might continue to grow stronger in 2022 if the supply chain situation improves,” added Brown.
Total futures market volume rose by 66 to 14,569 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 484 to 234,850 contracts in the previous session.
The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association on Thursday increased the spot rate by Rs 300 per maund and closed it at Rs 17800 per maund. The Polyester Fibre was available at Rs 245 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021