KARACHI: Fibre traders reported that buyers made deals on second grade lint amid a moderate pace of trading in the lint market while forward deals also changed hands for better grades. The firmness of physical prices provided an opportunity for weak sellers to fetch better bottom-line prices.
Buyers with less liquidity bought better grades according to their immediate needs while weak sellers withholding raw grade lint offloaded their stocks on a better price-parity level, floor brokers stated.
Lint market sentiments remained firm on forward trading, traders at the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) said.
The KCA kept the spot rate at Rs 6,700 per maund in order to help weak stakeholders withholding raw grades to ward off the minimal price level. During the trading session, mills in Sindh and Punjab stations purchased second grade lint while sellers offered all grades of lint at around Rs 5,975 per maund to Rs 6,775 per maund in order to capitalise maximum returns on their proceeds.
Spinners in Sindh and Punjab stations made deals on all grades at competitive prices for around Rs 6,000 per maund to Rs 6,575 per maund, while secondary buyers made deals for all grades in Punjab and Sindh stations for around Rs 6,025 per maund to Rs 6,575 per maund, floor brokers added.
Sellers withholding better grades of old crop offered produce in modest quantity on better prices, reported Shakeel Ahmad – a fibre analyst. Due to a decline in cotton output by more than 3 million bales in the 2016-17 crop season, buyers are eyeing cotton imports.
In Sindh and Punjab stations more than 900 bales changed hands with more than 60 percent of Punjab’s share in trading. New York May 2017 Futures stood at around 75 cents per pound, July 2017 at 75.63 cents per pound and the Cotlook A index was hovering at around 85 cents per pound.
