March 6, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 2, 1424

KARACHI, March 5: Cotton prices on the Karachi Cotton Exchange on Wednesday soared to a record high level of Rs2,600 per maund excluding the 15 per cent sales and analysts claim the current speculative-run will continue.

A deal of 2,000 bales from a southern Punjab ginnery was finalized at Rs2,600 per muand, which said to be the highest-ever rate for the last over a decade.

“The gap between the local as well as foreign ruling prices is now about at par,” says a leading cotton analyst adding “if Wednesday’s Rs2,600 is taken as a benchmark price there is a little difference between the both.”

Spinners have been combing the world markets and major supply sources after it was known to them that crop will be short of the official target but also far below their annual consumption needs.

Unconfirmed market reports say some of the leading spinners and mills have already opened letter of credit for about 0.8m bales between 50 cents per lb on the lower side and 56 cents on the higher.

Shipments are expected to resume after April and may be completed before the new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt arrives on the market possibly by early July.

But there is a loud whispering in some quarters that some of the weak spinning units have to temporarily shut down their business if the supplies were not available at competitive rates in the weeks to come, some brokers fear.

However, the reports did not have negative impact on the local prices as ginners think the reports may be “inspired one to push the local prices down.”

“We are now buyers around 60 cents per lb for the foreign stuff,” one spinner claims but are not inclined to leave the local market and are lifting all the lots offered by the ginners between Rs2,500 and Rs2,600 per maund.”

Official spot rates consolidated the overnight gains and stood firm at Rs2,475 per maund, but on the other hand New York cotton futures fell by 0.92 and 0.26 cents per lb at 48.65 and 57.64 cents per lb for both the matured March and the ruling May contracts.

Ready offtake was active as till late in the evening about 15,000 bales changed hands as under:

SINDH VARIETY: 1,400 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,475, 600 bales, Khairpur at Rs2,550, 1,000 bales, Oboro at Rs2,550 and 600 bales, Dharki at Rs2,575.

PUNJAB TYPE: 4,000 bales, Burewala Rs2,500, 200 bales, each Khanpur and Bahawalpur at Rs2,550 and 2,000 bales, Lodhran at Rs2,600.