August 20, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-us-Sani 21, 1424

KARACHI, Aug 19: Trading activity on the cotton market is picking up each session in line with the steady arrivals of phutti into the ginneries and a progressive increase in the lint turnout.

Despite being in a terribly short position as far as the ready supplies are concerned, leading spinners are keeping judicious balance in their ready purchases in a an effort not to allow further increase in prices, brokers said

However, the long-term price outlook appears a bit bearish followed by reports of higher crop in the major producing countries including China, US, India and Pakistan, they added.

“Prices are expected to fall from the current average of about Rs2,500 per maund by the middle of the next months as by that time more ginneries will resume operations in the Punjab cotton belt,” market sources predict.

About four cents per lb fall in New York cotton futures during the last couple of weeks despite higher shipments to China and some other countries indicates that local prices may also be influenced bearishly in line with the international market trends, they said.

After having touched the 15-year highs around 60 cents per lb followed by reports of an extensive damage to the standing crop in China owing to floods some months back, the New York cotton futures are now hovering around 55 cents per lb for both the ruling October and forward December contracts.

Both on Monday were quoted at 54.90 and 55.83 cents per lb, up 0.38 and 0.28 cents per lb respectively after several lean sessions.

Dealers said despite early reports of damage to lower Sindh crop because of last month’s heavy rain, official sources are now predicting higher crop of about 2.4m bales as, according to them, the losses in the lower Sindh will be compensated by higher crop projections in the other major growing areas.

However, the size of the crop will largely depend whether or not the incident of pest attack is manageable or alarming during the next couple of weeks after the crop reaches the flowering stage both in the upper Sindh and southern Punjab cotton belts, they said.

Official spot rates were lowered by Rs10 in line with the prevailing prices in the ready section.

Ready offtake was moderate as till late in the evening cotton consultant Naseem Usman reported the following deals:

SINDH VARIETY: 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,575, 200 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,570, 200 bales, Tando Adam at Rs2,560, 200 bales, Sultanabad at Rs2,540, and 100 bales, Khipro at Rs2,560.

PUNJAB TYPE: 200 bales, Burewala at Rs2,650 and 1,000 bales, Samundri also at Rs2,650.

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