Slow and restricted trading seen at cotton market

Due to poor demand for lint from leading spinners. Barring a few small and needy spinners, the trading ring gave a deserted look which keep trading activity slow and restricted at the cotton market on Tuesday.

Sluggish off-take of yarn locally and falling world cotton prices continued to depress lint rates. Leading spinners already having long positions were conspicuous by their absence.

At the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates were firm at overnight level of Rs7,000 per maund.

The following deals reported to have changed hands on ready counter were 1,400 bales, Khanpur, at Rs7,000 to Rs7,200; 400 bales, Ferozah, at Rs7,200; 400 bales, Lodhran, at Rs6,800; 1,400 bales, Haroonabad, at Rs6,185-6,400; 200 bales, Chishtian, at Rs6,200; 400 bales, Yazman, at Rs6,200; and 400 bales, Fort Abbas, at Rs6,200.

Dull trading was also recorded at the Karachi Cotton Exchange on Tuesday, while spot rates remained unchanged.

The spot rates stood firm at Rs7,000/maund (37.324kg) and Rs7,502/40kg. Ex-Karachi rates also remained unchanged at Rs7,145/maund and Rs7,657/40kg after an addition of Rs145 and Rs155 as upcountry expenses, respectively.

An analyst said that the market is trading low with lesser quantities at lower rates. Yarn prices are down so that mills are on the sidelines, while big mills are importing. Prices are likely to remain under pressure in the market for some time. A total of seven transactions of around 5,000 bales were recorded at a price of Rs6,185/maund to Rs7,200/maund. Deals were reported from Khanpur, Feroza, Lodhran, Haroonabad, Chistian, Yazman and Fort Abbas.

According to market sources, big spinners are currently holding around five million cotton bales. These spinners are facing a liquidity crunch because slow off-take of cotton yarn is challenging their cash flow, sources added. Similarly, ginners are also holding around 0.8-0.9m bales while a small quantity of phutti (seed cotton) of around 1.5m bales are left behind in the fields.