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Cotton Dropped As World Consumption Is Forecast Lower Than Last MonthMCX Cotton faced a decline of -0.42%, settling at 57380, influenced by changes in global consumption and production forecasts. World consumption for the 2023/24 season is projected to be 1.3 million bales lower than the previous month's estimates, with reductions for countries including India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey. However, ending stocks are forecast to be 2.0 million bales higher, driven by increased beginning stocks and production along with lower consumption. Technically, the cotton market is undergoing fresh selling, with a 2.54% gain in open interest, settling at 283. Prices have decreased by -240 rupees. Cotton finds support at 57260, with the potential for a test of 57150 levels on the downside. On the upside, resistance is expected at 57540, and a breakthrough could lead to a test of 57710 levels.

Arrivals flood local markets even as global rates rise to near 3-month high  India’s domestic cotton prices are still stuck at the bottom despite volatile movements while global cotton prices have surged to near three-month highs. Textile industry players and traders say they have not seen the market fluctuate in such a volatile manner.According to Anand Popat, a Rajkot-based cotton, yarn and cotton waste trader, prices moved down on an hourly basis on Monday with any change in the fundamentals. “We are witnessing a short-term fluctuation with prices going up quickly and then taking a sharp u-turn,” said an industry insider, who did not wish to be identified. On Tuesday, prices of Shankar-6, the benchmark for exports, declined to ₹55,150 per candy of 356 kg. Prices are the lowest since January 18, when it ruled at this level before rising to ₹56,050 on January 25. Open interest upOn the InterContinental Exchange (ICE), New York, cotton March contracts quoted at 84.34 US cents a pound (₹55,450/candy) early on Tuesday. Over the past two sessions, prices on China’s Zhengzhou for March contracts have increased to 16,050 yuan a tonne (₹66,875/candy), up from 15,855 yuan (₹66,425) during the weekend.The open interest on ICE has increased to 0.46 million US bales (62 lakh Indian bales (170 kg each) signalling some bullishness, according to traders. “Currently, arrivals exceed demand. They are about two lakh bales (170 kg each) on a daily basis. Mills are buying some 1.25 lakh bales, additionally about 25,000 bales, while the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) 25,000 bales and multinational companies (MNCs) 15,000-25,000 bales,” said Popat.MNCs are providing support to the cotton market with their purchases making up 40 per cent of the arrivals, said Ramanuj Das Boob, a sourcing agent for multinationals in Raichur, Karnataka.Last year stocks“Their purchases are providing liquidity in the market. They seem to be hedging by selling on ICE and buying here,” said Das Boob. A MNC official, who did not wish to be identified, said MNCs cannot go flat and need to hedge their positions on ICE. Das Boob said the Indian cotton crop was good and spinning mills were buying, though slowly. “Arrivals have been higher and they could be 170-175 lakh bales by January end and they are likely to be good in February too. Prices may rise once the arrivals drop to a trickle,” he said. Arrivals gave the impression that cotton production may be higher this year but they are faster than last year, said the MNC official. “In Telangana, arrivals are a shocking 35,000-40,000 bales daily. It has to drop to around 4,000 bales for prices to pick up. Popat said farmers are bringing to the market the stocks they held up last year, mixing with this year’s crop. “It is possible that the crop is good and last year’s held up stocks are also being brought to the market,” said the MNC official.Short-term swingsAccording to the Cotton Association of India, arrivals on Tuesday were 2.02 lakh bales with Maharashtra accounting for 60,000 bales, Gujarat 48,000 bales and Telangana 34,000 bales. But Prabhu Dhamodharan, Convenor, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), said, “In this volatile environment, textile markets are behaving with short-term swings, both upside and downside. This leads to mills taking very careful and calibrated steps in cotton buying decisions.” Mills are buying cotton based only on their “own yarn and fabric order visibility,” he said. Yarn movement in the domestic market is better than on the export front. “This means, garment manufacturers are getting orders,” said Poppat. However, he said the higher arrivals trend will likely not continue for long. The MNC official said the higher arrivals may end soon.Cotton output estimateHowever, Dhamodharan said, “Yarn spreads continue to be at lower levels in major products with compressed margins and this factor also makes mills more careful in their buying decisions.”The industry insider said the trade would like to be bullish though several factors, including speculation, decide on the price behaviour. Traders such as Popat are pegging cotton production at 315 lakh bales this season, despite a section pegging it lower. According to the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption, the production this season (October 2023-September 2024) is estimated at 317.57 lakh bales against 336.60 lakh bales the previous season. source : businessline

The rupee opened with weakness against the dollar today.The rupee opened with weakness against the dollar today. Today the rupee opened with a weakness of 1 paise at Rs 83.11 against the dollar. At the same time, on Tuesday, the rupee strengthened by 3 paise and closed at Rs 83.10 against the dollar.Today BSE Sensex opened with a decline.Today BSE Sensex opened with a fall of 194.24 points at the level of 70945.66 points. Whereas NSE's Nifty opened with a fall of 39.40 points at the level of 21482.70 points. Today, trading started in a total of 2,102 companies in BSE.

This evening, the rupee strengthened by 2 paise and closed at Rs 83.11 against the dollar.This evening the Sensex fell 802 points and closed at 71,140. Nifty fell 216 points and closed at 21,522.

Red Sea Crisis May Not Right Away Hit Textile Sector: CRISILPlayers operating in sectors like textiles, chemicals and capital goods may not be immediately impacted because of better ability to pass on higher costs, or because of a weaker trade cycle.“But a prolonged crisis over the next few quarters can make these sectors also vulnerable as working capital cycles would get stretched with orders put on hold,” according to CRISIL Ratings.According to CRISIL, 75 percent of home textiles are exported, mainly to Europe, North America, North Africa and the Middle-East and their mid-teen margins can absorb higher freight rates for some time.Indian companies use the Red Sea route through the Suez Canal to trade with Europe, North America, North Africa and parts of the Middle-East.These regions accounted for 50 percent of India’s exports worth Rs 18 lakh crore and 30 percent of imports worth Rs 17 lakh crore in the earlier fiscal.Increasing attacks on ships sailing in the Red Sea region since November 2023 have persuaded shippers to consider the alternative, longer route past the Cape of Good Hope.This has not only stretched delivery time by 15-20 days, but also increased the transit cost substantially because of incremental freight rates and insurance premium.“While the immediate impact of the crisis would be low for most of India Inc., a prolonged strife can affect the profitability and working capital cycle of export-oriented industries,” the ratings agency added.“The extent of this will vary depending on sectoral nuances. Supply chain issues could also intensify, curbing trade volume and renewing inflationary pressures,” CRISIL observed.

Rupee strengthened against dollar, opened with Rs.   The rupee opened strongly against the dollar today. Today the rupee opened with a strengthening of 1 paise at Rs 83.13 against the dollar. At the same time, on Monday, the rupee closed at Rs 83.13 against the dollar with a weakness of 2 paise.Stock market continues to rise even today, Sensex opens with rise of 162 pointsToday BSE Sensex opened at 72104.21 points with a gain of 162.64 points. Whereas NSE's Nifty opened with a gain of 60.20 points at the level of 21797.80 points. A total of 2,440 companies started trading in BSE today.

This evening, the rupee closed at Rs 83.13 against the dollar with a weakness of 1 paise.Sensex, Nifty rise by about 2%; Oil and gas, bank shares shineBenchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rose about 2 per cent each on Monday due to heavy buying in Reliance Industries and rally in Asian markets. The BSE Sensex closed at 71,941.57, up 1,240.90 points or 1.76 per cent. During the day it rose 1,309.55 points or 1.85 percent to 72,010.22. Nifty rose 385 points or 1.80 percent to 21,737.60.

Cotton Gains Amid Rise In Overseas Prices, Aided By A Drop In Unsold InventoriesCotton candy prices saw a modest uptick, closing 0.45% higher at 57500, buoyed by a surge in overseas prices supported by a drawdown in unsold inventories and a weakened U.S. dollar. The global cotton market witnessed adjustments in consumption forecasts for the 2023/24 season, with a reduction of 1.3 million bales due to lower estimates for India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey. Brazil witnessed record-high cotton production in the 2022-23 season, driven by expanded cultivation and improved productivity. The infestation of pink bollworm in the Indian cotton crop has declined, dropping from 30.62% during 2017-18 to 10.80% in 2022-23. Reports suggest a reduction in pink bollworm infestation across cotton-growing areas in the north, central, and south zones of the country. In November, Brazilian cotton shipments increased by 12%, reaching 253.71 thousand tons compared to October 2023. However, it marked a 5.5% decrease compared to November 2022. Globally, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) projected that cotton production would likely outpace consumption for the second consecutive year.Technically, the cotton candy market experienced short-covering, with open interest remaining unchanged at 176. Despite a price increase of 260 rupees, support is identified at 57020, with a potential test of 56550 if breached. On the upside, resistance is anticipated at 57780, and a breakthrough might propel prices to test 58070. source : investing.com

Surgical Cotton Variety: 'Surgical' cotton variety developed"The Central Cotton Research Institute at Nagpur has provided an alternative cotton variety for surgical purposes. The intention behind it is to promote it at the commercial level and benefit those cotton growers. The characteristic of this variety is its water absorption capacity.Dr. Prasad said, “Our institute has developed an improved variety of (surgical) cotton for medical purposes. BT technology has also been used in it. As such cotton is of commercial importance, it fetches a good price.It is processed after the selection. Then it becomes available in the market. This cotton has many characteristics. The thread of this variety is coarse and the water absorption capacity is 25 percent more than other varieties.Cotton varieties for medical purposes should have this trait strongly. Therefore, special attention has been paid to this in the research of this variety. If there is a demand from farmers or companies, it will be possible to provide seeds of this variety to some extent.Varietal characteristics* Yarn quality more than 5.7 to 6 in unit 'micronaire'* The same micronaire remains in the range of 3.5 to 4.5 in cotton varieties useful for textile manufacture* Color grade (RD) of this variety is 74-75. So this variety looks more white* The thread is coarse and water absorption capacity is 25 percent more than other varietiesAbout 35 percent of the area in Maharashtra is dryland. In that background, this variety is suitable for dry and light soils. It can also be cultivated in a very intensive manner. In that way the production can be up to 20 quintal per hectare. Its ripening period is short i.e. 120 to 140 days. - Dr. Y. G. Prasad, Director, Central Cotton Research Institute, Nagpur source : agrowan

After low yield, cotton crop hit by poor pricesChandigadh: Contrary to the push for crop diversification, most cotton growers in the state are finding it difficult to fetch the expected prices for their produce as their stocks have failed to fulfil the criterion fixed by Cotton Corporation of India (CCI). Due to shrinking acreage and reduced yield, the local cotton industry will be forced to bring in cotton from other states to complete their orders.With cotton touted as a viable alternative to the water-guzzling paddy, state government had announced a subsidy on BT cotton seeds ahead of the season. The cotton crop was, however, hit by pink bollworm in the Fazilka area, besides untimely rains causing widespread damage to the produce last year. It resulted in growers reaping a low average yield of around 4 quintal per acre.Swaroop Singh, general secretary, BKU (Lakhowal), said the quality of the cotton crop was not expected due to faulty seeds and adverse weather conditions. The CCI is offering a price of Rs 6,770 per quintal against the Centre’s rate of Rs 7,020 per quintal for long staple. Only a small quality of good-quality cotton was bought by private traders for over Rs 7,200 per quintal. “Since the majority of cotton growers were unable to fulfil the CCI’s quality criterion, they were forced to sell their stocks for as low as Rs 5,300 per quintal to private players. Only 20 per cent of the growers’ produce is left unsold. It has come as a major discouragement for cotton growers and many of them are contemplating switching to paddy that would be a disturbing trend,” he said.The total area under cotton this time shrunk to 1.73 lakh hectares – down from 2.48 lakh hectares in 2022, against the target of 3 lakh hectares. A major factor was the disillusionment of farmers due to the back-to-back past attacks by white fly, pink bollworm over successive seasons and many of them opted for paddy cultivation. There are eight cotton districts in the state of which Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka and Muktsar make the lion’s share. source : TOI

The rupee opened with weakness against the dollar today.The rupee opened with weakness against the dollar today. Today the rupee opened with a weakness of 3 paise at Rs 83.14 against the dollar. At the same time, on Friday, the rupee strengthened by 3 paise and closed at Rs 83.11 against the dollar. Today the stock market opened with a rise Today trading started with huge rise in shares of HDFC Bank and Reliance. Due to this, today BSE Sensex opened with a rise of 413.29 points at the level of 71113.96 points. Whereas NSE's Nifty opened at 21475.80 points with a gain of 123.20 points. Today, trading started in a total of 2,522 companies on BSE.