28 November 2004	Sunday	15 Shawwal 1425

KARACHI, Nov 27: Lint prices on the Karachi Cotton Exchange on Saturday fell further as ginners continued to liquidate long positions at the falling prices amid fears that the production glut could well mean panic selling in coming weeks.

There was, however, no dearth of buyers as both spinners and the TCP is absorbing bulk of the selling, including panic from some weaker links, but the ginners are not inclined to hold long positions, brokers said.

"After having purchased phutti at much lower rates, between Rs750 and Rs850 per 40 kg from the panicky growers, the ginners are selling lint a fair margin," they said, adding that "what worries them is fear of further fall in prices in the backdrop of bearish news from the world market."

On Saturday, lint prices were marked down by Rs50 for fine lots from Rs1,950 to Rs1,900, while that of inferior type is being sold at around Rs1,750 per maund.

"A good number of ginners are floating between the TCP and the spinners but could not precisely decided which one could come to their rescue," says leading ginners commenting on some of the deals cancelled by the TCP as the delivery could not be made within the stipulated period.

After the entry of TCP in the cotton business, cargo haulers have increased their rates by Rs10,000 per trailer of 200 bales, which is adding to its procurement costs and making lint more expensive both for local and foreign selling, he added.

After having sold their stocks of phutti in a near panic and at the falling prices, small and medium growers are out of the market, while some of the bigger ones hold back unsold stocks anticipating increase in prices, but the possibility of any increase appears to be a bit remote in the backdrop of global production glut, analysts said.

The near-term price outlook appears to be bearish, although the total output may well below the annual consumption needs of the textile sector, they said.

It was perhaps in this background that official spot rates were lower by Rs25, although some of the deals were finalized well below them in physical trading.

Ready offtake was active totalling about 25,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH VARIETY: 400 bales, Sanghar at Rs1,800 to Rs1,815; 400 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs1,750 to Rs1,800; 400 bales, Nawabshah at Rs1,900; and 400 bales, upper Sindh at Rs1,925.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 2,000 bales, Rajanpur at Rs1,925; 2,000 bales, each, Sadiqabad and Rahimyar Khan at Rs1,925 to Rs1,935; 2,000 bales, Bahawalpur at Rs1,900 to Rs1,925; 800 bales, Sahiwal at Rs1,875; 400 bales, Jehania at Rs1,925; 600 bales, Fort Abbas at Rs1,900; 1,000 bales, Gaggon and 400 bales, Garma Raja also at Rs1,900.