September 5, 2003	Friday	Rajab 7, 1424

KARACHI, Sept 4: Cotton prices on Thursday crashed on the cotton market as ginners continued to indulged in hasty selling for the second session in a row followed by reports of higher crop.

There was a virtual confusion on the market as ginners were out to clear their unsold positions, while spinners were in two minds hoping further decline in prices and made only selective buying.

The sudden pick up in arrivals of phutti into the ginneries and lower asking prices of the growers seems to have changed the price outlook at least for the near-term, dealers said. Phutti prices have also declined below the Rs1,000 per 40 kg level as growers sold on ready basis rather than keeping their phutti on an unfixed basis, they added.

“I don’t see any pressing negative reason to which the panic selling could be attributed,” says a broker. “Ginners seem to be following the shadows of predictions of higher crop, although it is too early to say something about the size of the crop at this stage.”

An idea of the prevailing panic may well be had that while Sindh lint was sold as low as Rs2,300 per maund, its Punjab counterpart fell to Rs2,400 from the recent highs of Rs2,650 per maund.

While the Punjab lots were sold at uniform rate of Rs2,400 per maund, Sindh ones showed highly erratic movements, touching the highest level at Rs2,500 and the lowest at Rs2,300 depending apparently on quality premiums.

Floor brokers said spinners and mills were a bit happy over the prevailing confusion among the ginners and did rush to cover positions fearing a rebound in prices.

“Lint prices are progressively falling in line with export parity rates for textiles but we will not resort to panic buying at the falling prices at this time of the season,” says a spinner commenting on the prevailing conditions in the ready cotton market.

He said the general perception is that prices will fall to a competitive rate of Rs2,200 per maund in due course owing to sympathetic fall in phutti rates during the last two days.

There was, however, no change in the official spot rates, which stayed unchanged at the previous levels.

New York cotton futures on the other hand showed a modest increase of 0.9 and 0.13 cents per lb at 57.59 and 59.52 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December settlements respectively.

Ready business was modest as till late in the evening about 4,000 bales changed hands as under:

SINDH TYPE: 600 bales, Tando Adam at Rs2,475, 200 bales, at Rs2,450, 600, bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,300, 200 bales, at Rs2,325, 800 bales, Nayabad at Rs2,500, 200 bales, Rs2,475, 200 bales, at Rs2,460, and 200 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,450.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 2,00 each, Gojra, Mian Channu and Sahiwal at Rs2,400.