27 October 2004	Wednesday	12 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 26: Steady conditions were again witnessed on the cotton market on Tuesday as some of the deals in physical trading were finalized Rs25-50 above the previous rates.

Unlike the previous session bulk of the business in fine lots was done between Rs2,050 to Rs2,075 per maund as compared to Rs2,000-2,050 during the last couple of sessions.

Floor brokers said the market appeared to be in the tight grip of ginners who were calling shots from a distant abode and mills were in an obliging mood for its own technical reasons.

The presence of the TCP in the cotton trade benefits them as it purchases lint not phutti and the higher price paid by it for the lint is not reflected in the selling prices of phutti, they said.

Excepting early in the season, when some of the lower Sindh growers managed to sell phutti around Rs1,000 per maund and so did some of their central Punjab counterparts, no one among them think of that rate after the idea of a bumper crop crept in, they said.

"After having all hopes of an official rescue operation, growers are dumping the commodity into the ginneries at the ginners' price option therefore a big loser and victim of production glut", market sources said.

The similar situations as the prevailing one suit the ginners who are in a commanding position as far as setting of daily selling prices are concerned, they said.

Over the last couple of weeks, lint prices had steadily rise to Rs2,075 per maund from the low of Rs1,750 after the entry of the TCP as a second buyer, but price of phutti declined to Rs750 and now on average about Rs850, well below the official rate of Rs925 per 40 kg.

Official spot rates were again firmly held at the overnight level of Rs1,975 per maund but on the other hand New York cotton futures recovered from the recent lows.

Both the ruling December and the March contracts were quoted higher by 0.87 and 0.70 cents per lb higher at 46.54 and 46.24 cents per lb respectively.

Ready off-take was comparatively slow as spinners and mills took stock of their inventories before resuming fresh covering operations. The following are some of deals which gone through on Tuesday:

SINDH VARIETY: 400 bales, Mirpurkhas and 500 bales, Sanghar at Rs1,925, 600 bales, Tando Adam at Rs1,925 to Rs1,950, 400 bales, Nawabshah at Rs2,000 and 400 bales, Sarhari at Rs1,975 to Rs2,000.

PUNJAB TYPE: 2,000 bales, Burewala at Rs2,050 to Rs2,070, 1,400 bales, Gojra, 600 bales, Jhang, 1,000 bales, Mongi Bangla, 400 bales, Bahawalnagar, 1,000 bales, Haroonabad, 500 bales, D.G.Khan, 1,000 bales, each Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, and Sadiqabad at Rs2,050, and 1,000 bales, Rajanpur at Rs2,050 to Rs2,075.