Cotton futures steady at Rs 20,370 per bale in afternoon session

Cotton

Cotton futures were steady at Rs 20,370 per bale on December 24 as participants trimmed their positions as seen from open interest. Cotton futures in the domestic market climbed 1.75 percent yesterday after touching a low of Rs 19,960 to settle at Rs 20,380 per bale on the MCX.

Cotton prices have risen by Rs 500 after a steep drop at the start of the week following the appearance of a new coronavirus variant in the UK.

Cotton arrival across the country jumped by 46 percent in the first 20 days of December to reach nearly 5 lakh tons.

In the futures market, cotton for December delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 20,430 and an intraday low of Rs 20,320 per bale on the MCX. So far in the current series, the commodity has touched a low of Rs 16,350 and a high of Rs 20,680.

Cotton futures for December delivery gained Rs 30, or 0.15 percent, to Rs 20,370 per bale at 15:45 hours IST on a business turnover of 1,276 lots. The same for the January contract eased by Rs 10, or 0.05 percent at Rs 20,600 per bale with a business volume of 3,247 lots.

The value of December and January’s contracts traded so far is Rs 18.23 crore and Rs 31.05 crore respectively.

Mohit Vyas, Analyst at Kotak Securities said, "We expect Cotton to continue with marginal profits for near futures as optimism for a vaccine and humongous stimulus package might provide a strong floor to cotton at near current levels"

At 10:18 (GMT), US Cotton futures were up 0.25 percent quoting at 76.33 cents/pound on Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

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