Rising demand pushed the rate higher on the cotton market on Friday in the process of trading, dealers said. The spot rate was unchanged at Rs 6200, they said. In ready session nearly 4000 bales of cotton change hands at Rs 6400, dealers said. In Sindh, the rates of seed cotton were available at Rs 3150-3225, while in the Punjab, the prices of phutti were at Rs 3000-3225, they said. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that the mills and spinners were under pressure due to ongoing spell of heavy rains. To keep a balance between demand and supply position, mills indulged in hectic buying of cotton, other analysts said.

Experts said that present monsoon rains in Punjab particularly in cotton belt was a hovering concern among the cotton traders. Adds Reuters: ICE cotton futures hit their lowest in over two weeks on Thursday after federal data showed that 2016/2017 U.S. exports dropped sharply to a marketing-year low. The December cotton contract on ICE Futures settled down 0.9 cent, or 1.34 percent, at 66.37 cents per lb, its lowest since June 26. It traded within a range of 66.3 and 67.59 cents a lb.

Total futures market volume rose by 3,516 to 18,023 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 980 to 211,738 contracts in the previous session. The following deals reported: 1600 bales of cotton from Tando Adam, 600 bales from Sanghar, 400 bales from Hyderabad, 200 bales from Hala, 200 bales from Jamsabad, 1000 bales from Shahdadpur, 600 bales from Mirpurkhas and 400 bales from Kotri all were finalised at Rs 6400, dealers said.

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The KCA Official Spot Rate for Local Dealings in Pakistan Rupees

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FOR BASE GRADE 3 STAPLE LENGTH 1-1/16"

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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 13.07.2017

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37.324 kg          6,200       135       6,335         6,335            NIL

Equivalent

40 kgs             6,645       145       6,790         6,790            NIL

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Copyright Business Recorder, 2017