01 August 2004	Sunday	14 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

KARACHI, July 31: Cotton market on Saturday remained under pressure as ginners from the lower Sindh indulged in hasty selling followed by reports of steady arrivals of new crop.

What seems to have encouraged ginners to further lower their asking prices was reports of an identical fall in phutti prices as growers were not inclined to hold on to their positions and sold at the spot rates, dealers said.

Lower and central Sindh growers who were selling their phutti around Rs1,000 per 40 kg a couple of sessions earlier were sellers around Rs950 to Rs975 as compared to the official support price of Rs925, they said.

The fall in phutti prices is well reflected in the lint, which was sold at Rs2,200 and Rs2,300 per maund both on the lower and the higher side respectively.

"Trading in the new crop lint was resumed around Rs2,550 per maund some weeks earlier and at Rs2,200 means a sharp decline of Rs350 per maund, signalling a developing crisis on the cotton situation," says a leading ginner.

Spinners are buyers at the current rates and are lifting all the lots being offered by ginners on the ready basis, he adds.

He said persistent decline in New York cotton futures has an unsettling effect on the world cotton trade as no one associated with it could precisely decide how to react to the developing situation.

But thing is clear that both the grower and the ginner is not inclined to sit on the ready stock and try to clear it as soon as possible.

"Spinners are now neglecting the current as the new one is available at an attractively lower rates, which is better both in quality and staple length as compared to the old crop," ginners said.

Official spot rates were further lowered by Rs50 per maund at Rs2,350 but in the ready section most of the new crop deals were finalized at much lower levels.

New York cotton on the other hand resisted fresh fall and were quoted fractionally higher by 0.10 and 0.28 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December contracts at 43.83 and 44.40 cents per lb respectively.

Ready business in the new crop was light totalling about 3,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals: 200 bales, Pithro at Rs2,275, 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,300, 100 bales, Rs2,275, 1,000 bales, Rs2,250, 400 bales, at Rs2,200 and 200 bales, Shahdadpur also at Rs2,200.