21 October 2004	Thursday	06 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 20: Active trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Wednesday as spinners and exporters remained active buyers round Rs2,000 per maund or slightly below depending on the quality of lint in trade.

For the last couple of sessions, prices seem to have stabilized around the current level of Rs2,000 or slightly below depending on quality. Heavy daily off-take indicates that the current average rates suit to all the market participants.

Floor brokers said spinners and mills have increased their daily intake after the entry of the private sector exporters and the TCP on the open market amid fears of fresh rise in prices.

The steady daily off-take of 30,000 bales reflects no one among them is inclined to miss the market below Rs2,000 in the backdrop of a significant improvement in the world price future outlook, they said.

Although strong presence of the TCP in the open market operations forestalled further decline in prices of lint, reports from the growers' front are a bit discouraging. Reports reaching here said, ginners are not paying them according to the official rate of Rs925 as growers claim the home-take amount on an average fluctuates between Rs775 to Rs850 per 40 kg, which is on the lower side taking into account the cost of inputs.

Most of the leading growers also complain of quality and purity allowance being deducted by the ginners, which some time hit the high mark of 4kg per 40 kg, says a leading grower adding "there is no valid reason for the deduction as the mid-season quality of phutti is according to normal standard".

Official spot rates were, therefore, firmly held at the last levels but on the other hand New York cotton futures rose further by 1.12 and 0.26 cents for both the ruling December and the forward March contracts at 47.54 and 47.00 cents per lb respectively.

Progressive rise in New York cotton futures prices indicates that they are creeping to attain their pre-reaction level of above 50 cents per lb. Brokers say if the level was hit, local prices will respond positively in the coming weeks.

Ready off-take was on the higher side as about 15,000 bales changed hands, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH VARIETY: 400 bales, Mirpurkhas and Tando Adam at Rs1,850 and Rs1,875-1,900, respectively.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,300 bales, Chistian, 1,200 bales, Gojra, 800 bales, Muridwala at Rs1,975 to Rs2,000, 400 bales, Ahmedpur East, 2,000 bales, Rahimyar Khan, 1,000 bales each Sadiqabad, Burewala and 2,000 bales, Bahawalpur at Rs2,000, 200 bales, Pir Mahal, 200 bales Rodo Sultan and 500 bales, Depalpur at Rs1,975 and 1,000 bales, Sahiwal at Rs1,950 to Rs2,000.