Cotton market faces range-bound trading

KARACHI: The Karachi cotton market witnessed a range-bound trading session amid firm spot rate and higher physical prices, traders at the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) said Friday.
The KCA spot rate stood firm at Rs 9,900 per maund while majority of the mills bought lint of all grades at Punjab and Sindh stations, floor brokers said.
They said most of the deals took place at Rs 9,550 per maund to Rs 10,500 per maund depending on grade during the trading session.
They said the spinning sector in Punjab and Sindh stations showed little interest in low grades and made deals for fine lint on higher prices around Rs 10,560 per maund.
Punjab stations remained the volume leader as buyers made around 85 percent of the total deals to secure 19,500 bales on competitive prices during the trading session.
Textile sector is demanding to abolish anti-dumping duty of polyester fibre as the textile and spinning sectors are facing shortage of raw material, cotton analyst Shakeel Ahmad said.
Ahmad said All Pakistan Textile Mills Association along with the polyester fibre sector representatives has demanded of the Textile Ministry to eliminate the anti-dumping duty.
He said the textile sector has asked the government to talk with Indian Ministry of Commerce in order to sort out the issue of Indian cotton export to Pakistan.
Indian exporters have only 1.5 million bales left for sale to the buyers of intending countries including Pakistan while Pakistani importers made confirmed deals for 100,000 bales with the Indian traders.
He said the Pakistan's target in crop season 2011-12 will witness an increase if all fundamental intact by around 5 percent to 13.90 million bales as compared to last crop season 2010-11.
He said the Pakistan's target in crop season 2011-12 will witness an increase if all fundamental intact by around 5 percent to 13.90 million bales as compared to last crop season 2010-11. The import in Pakistan and China would witness an increase around 5-10 percent of their respective total consumption due to value added exports and increase in yarn production, he added.
The New York March Futures stood at 144.06 cents per pound and May futures touched 139.47 cents per pound while Cotlook A Index stood at 176.80 cents per pound.

(Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\01\15\story_15-1-2011_pg5_12)