Cotton futures trade flat at Rs 19,100 per bale in afternoon trade

Cotton futures trade steady at Rs 19,100 per bale on October 14 after rising for the sixth straight day. The commodity settled above Rs 19,100/bale on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) on October 14.

ICE Cotton December futures continued with steady gains and settled near 68.93 cents/pound level on October 14.

Mohit Vyas, Analyst at Kotak Securities, said, “Prospect of better cotton export from India, limited new crop arrival in physical mandis and Cotton Corporation of India's procurement at the minimum support price (MSP) have lifted the crop price by more than Rs 1,000 since the beginning of this month.”

Indian cotton is still the cheapest in the world as it trades around 5 percent discount from Cotlook A prices of 74 cents as on October 14.

In the futures market, cotton for October delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 19,120 and a low of Rs 19,010 per bale on the MCX. So far in the current series, the commodity has touched a low of Rs 16,060 and a high of Rs 19,220.

Cotton futures for October delivery fell Rs 20, or 0.1 percent, to Rs 19,100 per bale at 14:47 hours IST on a business turnover of 545 lots. The same for November contract was down Rs 50, or 0.26 percent, at Rs 19,280 per bale on a business volume of 608 lots.

The value of October and November’s contracts traded so far is Rs 3.28 crore and Rs 1.05 crore, respectively.

Kotak Securities expects cotton to continue with marginal gains for the near future.