Prices Firm Amid Strong Mills’ Buying

Improved business activity was seen on the cotton market on Thursday in the process of trading, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 4600, dealers said. Seed cotton prices in Sindh were at Rs 2200-2300 and in Punjab rates were at Rs 2200 and Rs 2350, they said. In the ready business, over 2000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 4675 and Rs 4700, they said.
Market sources said that rates showed firmness due to rising demand by mills and spinners. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that rains in Sindh may cause slight damage to the crop.
Reuters adds: Benchmark cotton futures on ICE hit a three-month low on Wednesday but recovered to close higher for the first time in four sessions as extensive recent losses prompted investors to cover short positions and enticed physical buying from mills. December cotton on ICE Futures US rose by 0.24 cent on Wednesday, a 0.4 percent gain, to 64.48 cents per pound, after falling to as low as 63.94 cents a pound, the lowest level for the second-month since April 23.
Total futures market volume rose by 286 to 13,158 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 1,018 to 175,767 contracts in the previous session. The following deals reported: 1400 bales from Shahdadpur sold at Rs 4650-4700, 1600 bales from Sanghar, 1000 bales from Tando Adam finalised at the same rate, 600 bales from Hyderabad at Rs 4675-4700, 1200 bales from Mirpurkhas at the same rate, 400 bales from Matli at Rs 4700, 200 bales from Sahiwal at Rs 4900, 400 bales from Burewala at Rs 5000 and same figure from Khanewal done at the same rate, dealers said.
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