22 May 2004	Saturday	02 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

KARACHI, May 21: Active trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Friday as a leading spinner group tried to grab the floating stock below Rs3,200 per maund.

After several lean sessions, big-lot business was witnessed in the Punjab variety, notably fine lots, which also included a deal of 3,000 bales at Rs3,200 per maund excluding 15 per cent sales tax.

Although reports from the New York Cotton Exchange being highly erratic do not provide any cue to future price outlook to the spinners, local supply and demand factors have now assumed a pivotal role both for the spinners and the ginners, brokers said.

"The heating up of the local market after a protracted dullness is attributed to spinner failure to create panic among the ginners", they said "Having a fair idea of spinner demand, ginners were in no mood to oblige them and held on to their unsold positions".

About 10,000 bales changed hands including some big deals, which reflects spinners have finally decided to go for the unsold stock of 0.8m bales at the ginners option before prices rise further, they said. But one thing is clear that spinners failed to outwit ginners despite their long absence from the ready market as those holding large unsold stocks knew that "it is their turn to name selling prices".

Market sources said higher lint prices being quoted around Rs3,200 per maund would only minimize their losses suffered by them after having purchased phutti at much higher rates but without any profit.

According to some ginners their parity rate comes around Rs3,300 per maund based on the rate at which phutti was purchased by them in anticipation of sympathetic rise in lint prices.

But both the spinners and the ginners are selling their products well below their parity levels as the cotton market late last year was in the hands of growers who got the best price in the cotton trading history during the current season.

New York cotton futures again turned lower by 0.43 and 0.40 cents per lb for both the ruling July and new crop October at 63.54 and 61.10 cents per lb respectively on renewed speculative selling. But on the other hand local official spot rates were firmly held at the last levels amid active trading.

Ready off take was active totalling about 10,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals, mostly from the Punjab cotton belt: 3,000 bales, Alipur at Rs3.200, 6,000 bales, Samandari at Rs3,100, 400 bales, Multan, at Rs3,175, 200 bales, Bahawalpur at Rs3,050, 600 bales, Shujabad at Rs3,050 and 400 bales, Gothki also at this rate.