Karachi: Higher arrivals of phutti (seed cotton) in Punjab pushed lint prices further lower on Thursday. However, rain and flood water in some cotton-growing areas are hampering the flow of phutti to ginning mills.
Floor brokers said some demand for quality lint has helped stabilise prices. Cotton analyst Naeem Usman said that much of the trading activity remained around Punjab variety cotton, while activity in Sindh quality cotton remained restricted and slow.
He added that the current spell of rains in the country is beneficial as well as damaging depending upon the age of cotton plants in different cotton-growing belts in both the provinces. Those plants at flowering stage will be damaged due to wet weather, he added.
The steady flow of buying orders from needy millers, however, resulted in moderate trading activity with Punjab variety fetching higher price against Sindh quality.
The world cotton markets remained steady where New York cotton moved higher for all future contracts. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates remained unchanged.
The following deals were reported on ready counter: 1400 bales from Shahdadpur done at Rs4650 to Rs4700, 1600 bales Sanghar at Rs4650 to Rs4700, 1000 bales Tando Adam at Rs4650 to Rs4700, 600 bales Hyderabad at Rs4675 to Rs4700, 1200 bales Mirpurkhas at Rs4675 to Rs4700, 400 bales Matli at Rs4700, 200 bales Sahiwal at Rs4900, 400 bales Burewala at Rs5000 and 400 bales Khanewal at Rs5000.