February 21, 2002	Thursday	Zilhaj 8, 1422

KARACHI, Feb 20: Cotton market on Wednesday passed through another cheerless session as spinners adhered to the sidelines after ginners raised their asking prices.

Physical business, therefore, remained light as some local spinners were in the market, most of whom operate on short-term basis owing to financial problems, dealers said.

But failed to get required quantity of bales as ginners were not inclined to further lower their asking prices. Some of them, however, managed to buy a number of lots at unspecified rates, in a bid to keep the wheels moving during the coming holidays, they added.

Reports coming from the southern Punjab cotton belt indicate that a substantial business is being transacted as leading spinner groups are out to corner fine lots ahead of the TCP, which is also actively engaged in procurement operations to support the market.

Meanwhile, an SOS of the ginners to the President through press advertisement, requesting him to bail ginners out from the impasse of larger unsold stocks and falling prices was taken as a bearish signal here, floor brokers said.

“After having purchased phutti at much higher rates, ginners may not resort to panic selling hoping that the TCP could launch a rescue operation if directed by the President or the commerce minister and prefer to hold on to their positions for a couple of week,” they added.

They said the TCP has Rs10 billion at its disposal on this account and could give the needed push to the falling market provided it increases the pace of its buying operation.

There is no panic among the spinners despite a slight improvement in prices and they enter the market at will and purchase modest quantities to keep prices within the current levels.

Exporters also appear to be active but there intake is so small that it could not play the role of an active market player.

But the recent fall in world prices has limited their manoeuvring leverage as local rates did not fall in that proportion and they have to await increasing their offtake against export commitments, market sources said.

It was perhaps in this background that official spot rates consolidated the overnight gain and were quoted at the overnight levels.

Ready offtake was light as till late in the evening about 3,000 bales changed hands, including 500 bales from a Khanpur ginners changed hands at Rs1,650.