RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: In line with the international track, prices drifted lower sharply amid modest trading on the local cotton market on Saturday, dealers said.

As market re-opened after long holidays on the account of Eid-ul-Fitr, the official spot rate dropped sharply by Rs 300 to Rs 5400, they added. In sympathy with the decline in ready session, the prices of seed cotton in Sindh lost Rs 300 to Rs 2500-2600 and in Punjab rates shed Rs 400 to Rs 2400-2600, they said.

According to the market sources, most of the mills took part in trading to meet urgent needs. In the meantime, most of them were in grip of uncertainty due to decline in the rates, in the cotton producing countries.

The ginners, who were expecting for recovery in the prices after Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, now very much fed up due to higher cost of production and lower-than-expected profit, cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said.

Report appeared that Ivory Coast has revised the forecast for its 2014-15 cotton production higher to at least 450,000 tonnes, from 420,000 tonnes previously on the back of a bumper crop harvest, the head of the cotton profession association said on Thursday.

Reuters adds: US cotton futures fell for a third straight session on Thursday, plumbing five-year lows, as traders shrugged off positive weekly exports data to focus again on a heavily supplied market for fibre. The most-active December cotton contract on ICE Futures US finished down 1.13 cents, or 1.8 percent, at 62.80 cents a lb. The session low was 62.87 cents, the lowest since October 2009 for a benchmark second month contract in US cotton. December cotton has lost a whopping 33 percent over the past two months.

US cotton futures rose on Friday, as bargain hunting by cotton mills and short-covering by investors lifted the fibre market from a five-year low after three days of declining prices. The most-active December cotton contract on ICE Futures US finished up 0.4 cent at 63.27 cents a lb. The session low was 62.02 cent, the lowest since October 2009 for a benchmark second month contract in US cotton on a continual basis.

The following deals reported: 1000 bales of cotton from Shahdadpur at Rs 5400-5500, 1200 bales from Sanghar at Rs 5400-5500, 1000 bales from Mirpurkhas at Rs 5400-5500, 800 bales from Kotri at Rs 5400-5500, 1000 bales from Tando Adam at Rs 5400-5500, 400 bales from Hyderabad at Rs 5450, 1000 bales from Burewala at Rs 5450-5525 and 400 bales from Chichawatni at Rs 5500, they said.

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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 28.07.2014


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37.324 Kgs        5,400        155        5,550        5,855           -305


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Equivalent


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40 Kgs            5,787       155         5,937        6,264           -327


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