November 2, 2002	Saturday	Sha’aban 26,1423

KARACHI, Nov 1: Cotton prices on Friday remained stable around the previous levels amid relatively slow trading owing partly to a short Friday session and partly to slack ready demand.

After having made hectic covering purchases during the last couple of sessions, leading spinners and mills were also conspicuous by their absence apparently allowing ginners and growers to redefine their market strategy in the backdrop of an accelerated pace of phutti arrivals into the ginneries.

Moreover, according to market sources, spinners and mills had purchased about 0.2m bales of lint during the last couple of sessions to cover their forward positions against foreign sales of cotton yarn and preferred to take a small breather before resuming their buying operations.

“I don’t foresee any major change in the near-term price outlook,” predicts a leading broker, adding “as the growers are not inclined to hold back stocks of phutti for various reasons, including the financial ones, normal supplies may keep prices within the current range.”

However, the recent decline in phutti prices, from the peak level of Rs1,000 to Rs825 per 40 kg did not have a major negative impact on the lint rates.

Most leading floor brokers predict whether or not the ruling prices fall in line with export parity level of spinners, the current level could be sustained until arrival figures of phutti for the fortnight ended Oct 31, are released by the official agency possibly by the next week.

The end-October arrival figures may not necessarily reflects the actual size of the crop at this stage, they will certainly allow spinners and mills to refix their stock-building priorities, they added.

They said the mid-season cotton outlook appears to be in line with the perception of the entire cotton trade, but negative international factors could unsettle the current price pattern in the days to come.

On the export front, selling is not that encouraging despite reports of higher demand for Pakistani lint amid reports of short crop in India and China.

According to official figures 46,153 bales have been physically shipped to foreign destinations up to Oct 23, 2002. Out of which the share of TCP is 25,607 bales and that of the private sector exporters at 20,546 bales.

Official spot rates were held unchanged in line with the prevailing prices on the ready counter amid relatively slow trading.

But on the other hand New York cotton futures resisted fresh decline as both the ruling December and the distant March settlements rose by 0.15 and 0.21 cents per lb at 46.25 and 48.39 cents, respectively, after last couple of sessions’ persistent fall.

Ready offtake. was slow as spinners remained busy having an overview of their inventories before resuming fresh buying. As a result, about 12,000 bales changed hands, mostly from the Punjab ginneries. The following are some of the deals, which gone through late in the evening: 7,000 bales from Jalalpur, Shujabad and Lodhran at Rs2,125; 200 bales, Fazalpur at Rs2,125; 200 bales, Vehari at Rs2,090; 200 bales, Depalpur at Rs2,100; and 200 bales from Duniyapur at Rs2,075.