RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Subdued business was witnessed on the cotton market on Wednesday as ginners showed no interest in fresh selling, dealers said.

The official spot rate maintained week-end level at Rs9000, they added. In the ready session, only one deal of 400 bales of cotton finalised at Rs8350, they said.

Rate of seed cotton per 40kg in Sindh low quality was at Rs2800, while the best quality was unchanged at Rs4100, and in the Punjab prices of low quality were at Rs2800 while the fine type was available at Rs4600, they said.

In Sindh, Binola prices per maund were at Rs1400-1800, in Punjab rates were at Rs1650-1800, they said and the rate of polyester fibre was at Rs173 per kg, they added.

Market sources said that most of mills and spinners failed to make any deal as ginners were not ready to oblige them, the ginners have limited stock of unsold cotton, so they preferred to be on the sideline in expectations of rise in profit.

Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that partial sowing started in lower Sindh, but the growers were facing difficulties due to unavailability of cotton seed.

Adds Reuters: Cotton futures extended losses on Tuesday, after touching a more than two-month low in the previous session, as a sharp rise in the new coronavirus cases outside China sparked worries of a global economic slowdown.

Cotton contracts for May fell 0.78 cent, or 1.2%, to 66.78 cents per lb as of 1:28 p.m. EST (1828 GMT). It traded within a range of 66.52 and 67.75 cents a lb. Cotton fell 2.1% on Monday, in biggest one-day percentage decline since Jan 21, on the virus woes.

Total futures market volume fell by 51,226 to 25,529 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 1,805 to 196,787 contracts in the previous session.