June 21, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 20,1424

KARACHI, June 20: Physical trading on the cotton market is progressively picking up as spinners have resumed their covering operations after normal resumption of export trade.

“The foreign import orders both from cotton yarn and textiles may not have flooded the market, a good beginning has been made as Far Eastern importers are back in the stream and are opening letters of credit for the next quarter, starting from July 1”, dealers said.

Larger unsold stocks of cotton yarn and other finished textiles to which massive amounts of cash were tied up are gradually in the pipeline, enhancing spinners purchasing power, they said.

However, owing to higher asking prices of the ginners daily offtake is terribly low as spinners are making guarded purchases amid hopes that steady arrivals of new crop from Sindh could ease the current price situation.

The interesting feature is that the new crop lots are available at much lower rates as compared to the fine lots of the current crop. The short staple lint from the lower Sindh ginneries is being sold at Rs2,325 but on the other hand ginners from the upper and southern Punjab cotton belts are not inclined to sell below Rs2,500 per maund.

Floor brokers said despite being in short supply, spinners will not go all-out to grab the floating stock of about 0.130m bales lying with the ginners as they are inclined to give the needed push to selling prices of the current crop.

Stray lots are changing hands between Rs2,500 and Rs2,530 per maund, which rate appears to be well in line with the parity level of the spinners and the mills, they added.

Meanwhile, phutti prices are fluctuating between Rs950 and Rs1,050 per 40 kg depending on the size of arrivals into the lower Sindh ginneries. When the arrivals pick up, prices fell to Rs950 per 40 kg and as the arrivals have dried up because of recent rain they have risen to Rs980 per 40 kg against the official support price of Rs850.

According to official figures released by the textile commissioner office, mill consumption was maintained well above the monthly figure of 0.940m bales, the highest being at 0.970m bales and the lowest at 0.43m bales per month.

Official spot rates did not show any change and were firmly held at Rs2,425 per maund, without 15 per cent sales tax.

Ready offtake was modest totalling about 1,500 bales as under:

NEW CROP: 400 bales, Sultanabad at Rs2,325.

CURRENT CROP: 400 bales, Gothki at Rs2,530, 200 bales at Rs2,500 and 200 bales, Dharki also at the same rate.