July 30, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 19,1423

KARACHI, July 29: Cotton prices on Monday rose further as spinners continued to make frantic efforts to grab the floating stock, fearing pressure on the ready supplies during the next couple of weeks.

Official spot rates soared to Rs1,900 per maund but in the ready section a big-lot deal was finalized at Rs2,050, claimed to be the season’s highest price.

Haunted by fears of an imminent price flare-up, most of the spinners and mills holding short positions are indulging in panic buying, causing a steady rise in the selling rates for the last couple of sessions.

The other contributory factor, which caused the recent price flare-up, delayed crop in the lower Sindh belt and slow arrivals into the ginneries put pressure on the new crop supplies.

“Steady sales by the TCP to both the local and foreign buyers have altogether changed the price outlook at the fag-end of the season,” says a leading broker, adding “ginners who were worried over the unsold stock some weeks are now in a dictating position.”

The reports that the TCP has sold 36,600 bales last week in its latest tender was taken by spinners as a warning signal about the future supplies.

“The TCP sell-off before the normal arrival of the new crop from the lower Sindh ginneries, which is considered a buffer stock by the spinners, seems to have changed the entire cotton outlook for the current season,” one spinner complains.

What seems to have triggered panic buying from the spinners are the reports dwindling unsold stocks with the ginneries and below normal arrival of new crop from the Sindh ginneries.

According to market sources, unsold stocks lying in the ginneries might not be more than 50,000 bales, barely enough for a couple days. Owing to higher mill consumption figures, there are fears they spinners may fall short of their target despite having imported 1.2m bales from foreign sources early during the current season and 9.8m bales from the local market.

Ready offtake was light as spinners and mills extended guarded support in an effort to keep prices within the prevailing level.

Ready offtake was moderately active at about 3,000 bales, both of new and the current crop as under: 300 bales of new crop from Mirpurkhas done at Rs1,950 to Rs1,975 and 2,400 bales of current crop from Ahmedpur East at Rs2.050.