10 August 2004	Tuesday	23 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

KARACHI, Aug 9: The cotton market on Monday rallied back from the weekend lower levels as ginners raised their asking prices followed by the interruption of new crop because of fresh wave of monsoon in the entire cotton belt.

Lint prices on Saturday eased from the recent peak level of Rs2,300 owing to hasty selling by some of the lower Sindh ginners under the lead of a Sultanabad ginner, brokers said.

A big deal of 1,400 bales by a Sultanabad ginner at Rs2,300 has sent bearish signals on the cotton market as some others followed him, he added. But some lots from Pithero, Mirpurkhas, Khipro and Sanghar ginneries were sold between Rs2,300 and Rs2,360 late Saturday evening.

"Price are expected to move either-way until the ginners from the central Punjab cotton belt resume new season operations, market sources said, adding "only an increased arrivals of phutti into the ginneries can further lower the production cost and could make local lint more attractive," some others claim.

But Sunday's rain in the lower Sindh cotton belt interrupted new crop arrivals into the ginneries and the consequent increase in prices. Some of the deals were finalized as high as Rs2,375 followed by reports of suspension of picking operation of phutti in some of the lower Sindh cotton belt owing to rain.

Reports coming here from the Punjab cotton belt also indicate fresh wave of rain, notably in the central Punjab cotton belt where picking operations of phutti have also been suspended in some of the areas where the downpour was heavy, they said.

"Heavy monsoon downpour serves, among others, two important purposes," cotton analysts said. "On the one hand it washes away pests and insects from the cotton leaf and hastens the growth of plants, on the other."

Ready offtake, however, was light as the spinners were not inclined to go beyond an average price level of Rs2,300 per maund at least for the near-term, some others claim.

Moreover, they are awaiting the opening of the New York futures cotton market before going for fresh commitments. New York cotton futures rates enable them to refix their export prices in line with the world parity rates, they said.

The following were some of the deals in the new crop, which gone through late Monday evening: 200 bales, Sultanabad at Rs2,350; 300 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,335; and 800 bales from the Punjab ginneries at Rs2,350 to Rs2,375.