January 3, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 29, 1423

KARACHI, Jan 2: Normal trading activity was resumed on the cotton market on Thursday as spinners made fresh covering purchases amid fears of pressure on ready supplies during the coming weeks.

Official spot rates were, therefore, marked up modestly but in physical trading ginners have further raised their asking prices owing to a sizable decline in arrivals of phutti into the ginneries.

Ginners said most of the leading growers will prefer to hold on to their unsold positions by the end of the current month or early next month to get higher prices, small one among them are not inclined to take risks sold their stocks at the prevailing prices.

“Wheat has already been grown on the bulk of acreage under cotton crop as small tillers are not inclined to miss the benefit of two crops in a year”, they added.

According to market sources spinners have their own crop monitoring network, which compile an accurate data on which they base their buying strategy at least for a week.

The resumption of normal new year buying operations by the leading spinner groups reflects that most of them have a fair idea of the total crop, with minor either-way adjustments, they added.

The big-lot business after about a month, notably for the fine lots shows that spinners are out to grab the floating stock at the prevailing prices. As a result, some of the fine lots were sold as higher as Rs2,200 per maund under the lead of K-68 Sawgin from the upper Sindh ginneries.

Some of the spinners who short of their annual target are offering premiums rates to the ginners on forward basis. Some of the deals on two-month credit basis were finalized at Rs2,250 per maund without 15 per cent sales tax.

The future cotton outlook appears to be bullish and ginners are expected to cover their previous losses depending on their holding capacity, brokers said adding “after having sold their stocks of phutti, small and medium growers may not benefit from the possible price flare-up”.

Ready business expanded to 15,000 bales, both from the Sindh and the Punjab ginneries, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 2,500 bales, Dharki, Gothki, Mirpur Mathelo and Salepat at Rs2,175 to Rs2,180, 2,000 bales at Rs2,250 on two-month credit and 1,000 bales, Mandodero at Rs2,200, 600 and 1,000 bales, Nawabshah and Bucheri at Rs2,125, 200 and 300 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,075 and Rs2,100 and 300 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,100.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,000 bales, D.G.Khan at Rs2,100 to Rs2,150, 400 bales, Hasilpur at Rs2,100, 1,000 bales, Sadiqabad at Rs2,175, 800 bales, Rahimyar Khan at Rs2,200 and 400 bales, Khanpur at Rs2,175.