Cotton prices surged on Wednesday on the back of strong buying from spinners and short supply. At Karachi Cotton Exchange, spot rates remained unchanged.

The spot rates stood firm at Rs6,750/maund (37.324kg) and Rs7,234/40kg. Ex-Karachi rates also remained intact at Rs6,885/maund and Rs7,379/40kg after an addition of Rs135 and Rs145 as upcountry expenses, respectively.

Ginners obliged only those deals which were quoted at higher prices and one of the bids were quoted at season’s record high level. As cotton stocks are reducing day by day, ginners are striving to get highest prices against their limited stocks.

Brokers believed that the market would continue to remain slow for the rest of the current cotton season which was expected to close much earlier due to short crop. In Sindh phutti (seed cotton) has already exhausted while very small quantity is left in Punjab for picking.

Major deals that changed hands on the ready counter were: 1,600 bales from Jalalpur at Rs6,775, 400 bales from Hasilpur at Rs6,925, 400 bales from Liaquatpur at Rs7,000 and 600 bales from Chani Goth at Rs7,300 (conditional).

Brokers said that China sold more cotton in the world market which was another factor that put cotton prices under pressure. Indian cotton prices also recorded a dip in front of slack demand from mills due to slower exports.