Sustained demand from needy spinners to replenish their stocks over tight supply of quality cotton and strong demand pushed Cotton prices on Wednesday to a new seasonal record high. There were a couple of big deals which indicated spinners are keen to get maximum stocks from local source.

However, active trading prevailed at the Karachi Cotton Exchange on Wednesday, while spot rates remained firm.

The spot rates stood unchanged at Rs6,700/maund (37.324kg) and Rs7,180/40kg. Ex-Karachi rate also remained firm at Rs6,835/maund and Rs7,325/40kg after an addition of Rs135 and Rs145 as upcountry expenses, respectively.

According to analyst, cotton prices would likely to remain firm in Pakistan, as the demand has increased after announcement of the textile package by the government.

KCE recorded domestic transactions of around 14,000 bales from eight stations in between Rs6,375/maund to Rs7,050/maund. Trading stations included Shahdadpur, Khanpur Mahar, Yazman Mandi, Fazilpur, Khanpur, Rahimyar Khan, Mian Channu and Haroonabad.

Major deals that changed hands on the ready counter were: 600 bales from Shahdadpur at Rs6,375, 600 bales from Khanpur Mahar at Rs7,000, 600 bales from Yazman at Rs7,000, 400 bales from Fazilpur at Rs7,000, 5,861 bales from Khanpur at Rs7,000, 5,600 bales from Rahimyar Khan at Rs7,000, 400 bales from Mian Channu at Rs7,050 and 800 bales from Haroonabad at Rs7,050.

The world leading’s cotton markets also remained firm with the New York cotton witnessing profit-selling induced by high prices. Indian cotton prices have risen by up to 13 percent during the past 45 days.

According to market reports, the export of Indian cotton this season has so far declined to five million bales against 6.9m bales recorded in the corresponding period last year. The short crop coupled with high prices forced Indian spinners to import cotton from the United States.

As per brokers, due to lower cotton prices in the New York market, China and Vietnam have also become major buyers. This also could be due to availability of quality of US cotton.