July 11, 2003	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1424

KARACHI, July 10: The cotton market on Thursday lacked normal trading interest as spinners remained conspicuous by their absence after ginners raised their asking prices.

Unconfirmed reports say some lots of new crop changed hands between Rs2,350 and Rs2,375 per maund for nearby delivery, but leading brokerage houses did not confirm the deals.

However, mills sources claim they are very much in the market and are lifting new crop lots from the lower Sindh ginneries on a modest scale for the last couple of sessions.

They said as the picking operations of phutti had resumed in most of the areas in central and lower Sindh cotton belt after the early week rain spell ginners had offered to sell stray ready lots at the pre-rain rates.

“Reports of steady arrivals of phutti from the fields without much delay as was speculated forestall any speculative increase in prices at least for the near-term,” brokers said.

But normal trading is expected to resume possibly by the next week as by that time picking operations of phutti are also expected to resume in the central Punjab cotton belt, they said.

Meanwhile, central Punjab are out of the lower Sindh phutti market since early week because of rain and larger arrivals from the local fields, which turn slightly depressed the lint rates.

Phutti prices, which have risen sharply to Rs1,000 per 40 kg owing to rain, have also fallen to Rs950 and Rs975 per 40 kg as growers are not inclined to hold on to their stocks fearing damage in case of fresh rain.

Market sources said most of the growers did not have an adequate storage facilities and try to delivery new picked up phutti to the nearby ginneries on an unfixed basis for a week or so.

New York cotton futures shrugged of the overnight easiness and rose by 0.43 and 0.54 cents per lb for both the maturing July and the new crop October settlement at 58.85 and 60.75 cents per lb, respectively.

Reports of higher world consumption in most of the importing countries were said to be the chief bullish factor behind the current bullish run. There was, however, no change in the local official spot rates, which were firmly held at the last levels.

Leading brokers did not deny or confirm that some of the spinners have managed to lift stray lots till late in the evening.