Cotton down

Karachi : Dull trading continued at the Karachi Cotton Exchange on Monday, while spot rates decreased Rs100/maund.

The spot rates fell to Rs7,400/maund (37.324kg) and Rs7,931/40kg. Ex-Karachi rates also dropped to Rs7,545/maund and Rs8,086/40-kg after an addition of Rs145 and Rs155 as upcountry expenses, respectively.

Naseem Usman, chairman of the Karachi Cotton Brokers Association, said that water shortage had affected cotton sowing. However, partial sowing was witnessed in some areas of Sindh, while partial harvesting started in those areas, where tube-wells were used for the sowing of the crop. Karachi cotton market recorded only two transactions of around 1,600 bales at the price in the range of Rs6,450 to Rs6,800/maund. Of these, 632 bales of Fort Abbas were sold at Rs6,450/maund and 1,000 bales of Rajanpur exchanged hands at Rs6,800/maund.