27 January 2004	Tuesday	04 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Jan 26: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on a firm note as ginners were not inclined to lower their asking prices amid predictions of further pressure on the ready supplies.

Fine and contamination-free lots are being sold around Rs3,300 to Rs3,350 per maund, while inferior varieties are available between Rs2,800 to Rs2,900 without 15 per cent sales tax.

Ready offtake was, however, slow owing to delivery problems including higher fare being charged by the cargo haulers. Stray lots did change hands at rates depending on quality of lint but there was no reports of any big deal.

Floor brokers said the world cotton situation is changing each day as reports of lower crop projections in the major producing countries including India are heating up the markets.

According to market sources local spinners have so far purchased about 0.250m bales from the Indian Cotton Trading Corporation and some private exporters against which shipments are being made.

But according to latest reports India has slowed down its export sales apparently to have an overview of the local supply and demand factors in the backdrop of latest crop figures, they said.

However, shipments against the firm orders for which letters of credit have already been opened are steadily being made to meet the deadlines, local textile industry sources said.

Lint is also arriving here from the other countries as spinners are trying to bridged the supply gap from any foreign source at competitive rates. "The supply gap of about 2m bales is too big to be bridged and that too at the current higher rates, needing more than double the money being spent on this account during the previous years", says a spinner.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the local yarn market indicate that prices of various counts of cotton yarn used by the ancillary industry are steady and the supplies of the commodity is normal despite reports of steady exports.

Official spot rates stayed firm in line with those at which deals were being finalized in the ready section. Ready offtake was light totalling about 8,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 400 bales, Moro at Rs3,090, 200 bales, Qazi Ahmed at Rs3,075, 400 bales, each Bandhi and Kot Ghulam Muhammad also at this rate, 200 bales, Bhiria Road at Rs3,125 and 3,000 bales, upper Sindh at Rs3,300 to Rs3,325.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 400 bales, Haroonabad and 900 bales, Sadiqabad, and 2,000 bales, Khanpur, at Rs3,200.