October 17, 2002	Thursday	Sha'aban 10, 1423

KARACHI, Oct 16: Trading activity on the cotton market slightly slowed down on Wednesday as leading spinners curtailed their daily offtake apparently to have an overview of their inventories.

But brokers said the market may take a couple of days more before resuming normal trading activity as buyers and sellers have yet to adjust themselves to the post-election political scenario and its likely impact on the cotton trade.

But those who keep an eye on the international price trend did not lower their guards and lifted all the lots offered for sales by the ginners.

Some leading cotton analysts fear the rebound staged by the New York futures after several lean sessions could change the world price outlook if the current speculative run was sustained during the coming sessions.

New York cotton futures on Tuesday rose by 1.28 and 1.23 cents per lb at 44.04 and 46.45 cents per lb for both the ruling December and the forward March contracts respectively on strong speculative buying fuelled by reports of a steady pick up in US cotton and textile exports.

The impact of the increase in world prices was not visible on the local market, it could be felt in the coming sessions as it will guide the spinner buying strategy.

The cotton trade being free as spinners and mills are allowed to import lint if the local prices are not competitive to maintain their competitive edge on the textile export front.

The higher world prices keep spinners busy on the local market, which in turn keep prices steady, both from the grower as well as the ginner, dealers said.

Official spot rates consolidated the previous gains and were firmly held at the overnight levels.

Ready offtake was relatively slow as till late in the evening about 6,000 bales changed hands as compared to 10,000 to 15,000 bales during the last couple of sessions.

The following are some of the notable deals, which gone through late on Wednesday evening:

SINDH TYPE: 200 bales, Tando Adam at Rs.1,970.00, 200 bales, Shahpur Chakker at 1,970.00,200 bales, Mirpurkhas at 1,970, 200 bales, Sakrand at 2,025.00, 200 bales, Bhiria at 2,025.00, 200 bales, Hingorja a 2,025.00, 200 bales, Mehrabpur at 2,035.00 and 200 bales, Moro at 2,025.00.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 200 bales, Uch Sharif at 2,015.00, 2,000 bales, Nurpur Nauranga at 2,015.00, 200 bales, D.G.Khan at 2,000.00, 200 bales, Bahawalpur at 2,000.00, 200 bales, Burewala at 1,975.00,200 bales, Sahiwal at 2,090.00 and 200 bales, Chichawatni at 2,000.00.