Firmness prevailed on the cotton market on Wednesday as ginners were not keen to sell at the prevailing rates just to keep themselves save from losses, dealers said. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 5,800. The seedcotton prices were stable in Sindh at Rs 2400-2600 while in Punjab low type of seedcotton gained Rs 100 to Rs 2400 and best quality was up by Rs 150 to Rs 2900, they said. Approximately 15,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 5625-6000, they said.

According to the market sources, mills were not taking interest in the local cotton, they were trying to import cotton as much as they can. Cotton analyst Naseem Usman said that on the other hand, the ginners were not taking interest in selling cotton below their psychological levels. Because, he said, they (ginners) were not getting any profit in return. Usually, they buy from growers at a certain prices but after ginning, when they sell their stuff to mills, the spinners and mills want to buy at lower prices, so we prefer to be on sidelines to bring stability in the rates, other analysts said.

The New York cotton futures were higher on Tuesday, dealer said. The following deals were reported: 800 bales of cotton from Nawabshah at Rs 5625, 800 bales from Khairpur at Rs 5900, 2000 bales from Bhawalpur at Rs 5800-5850, 1200 bales from Fort Abbas at Rs 5850-5925, 1000 bales from Alipur at Rs 5875, 800 bales from Burelawala at Rs 5900, 1000 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 5900, 600 bales from Haroonabad at Rs 5900-5950 and 1200 bales from Rajanpur at 5950-6000, 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 27.11.2012

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37.324 Kgs         5,800      155         5,955        5,955            NIL

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Equivalent

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40 Kgs             6,216      155         6,371        6,371            NIL

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Copyright Business Recorder, 2012