12 May 2004	Wednesday	21 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, May 11: Cotton market on Tuesday lacked normal trading interest as ginners were not inclined to lower their asking prices anticipating further increase in the coming weeks.

Some of the local brokers, however, claim stray lots both of low-mic and fine variety are changing hands direct between the ginners and the spinners, details of which are not immediately reaching here.

"Much of the trading activity during the last couple of days has been shifted to the southern Punjab cotton belt where bulk of the unsold stocks are lying in the ginners' godowns", they said.

Having a fair idea of supply and demand before the new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt reaches the market sometime in late July, ginners are now least worried over their unsold stocks.

"Ginners are now eyeing an average price of Rs3,300 per maund for the fine varieties during the next couple of weeks and until then they will hold on to their unsold positions", says a ginner.

The current turmoil on the world markets has put them in a commanding position as the falling stocks in the backdrop of lower local crop have pulled them out from the impasse of late December or early January when spinners have an upper hand, he adds.

No one could deny the fact that intake of the spinning sector has showed a big increase during the first nine months of the current year as was reflected by a big rise in exports of textiles, which soared by 15.40 per cent at well over $5bn, market sources said.

It reflects a corresponding increase in mill intake and supply gaps are being filled in through imports, although recent increase in the New York cotton futures has made imports more expensive, they said.

It was perhaps in this background that both ginners and spinners were awaiting "some good news" in their own ways, the victim being the daily physical business.

New York cotton futures on Monday closed modestly lower by 0.21 and 0.12 cents per lb for both the ruling July and the forward October contracts at 64.54 and 63.50 cents per lb. The matured May settlement was rung off the board.

There was, however, no change in the official spot rates, which consolidated the overnight gain of Rs25. Ready business was light but some brokers reported about 1,500 bales changed hands, mostly from the southern Punjab cotton belt and stray lots from the central Sindh centres.