January 29, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 28, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 28: The cotton market on Saturday eased modestly from the current higher levels as some of the ginners holding long unsold position lowered their asking prices to attract fresh buying from spinners.

Stray lots changed hands between Rs2,500 and Rs2,550 maund, while inferior varieties were at around Rs2,450 but there was no big deal and physical activity failed to pick even at the lower levels, brokers said.

“The talk of price level of Rs2,600 per maund appears to have no relevance to the ground realities as the spinners and mills played safe in an apparent effort not to fuel price flare-up,” they said.

“We need more supplies to see the current season through,” says a leading spinner, adding: “But we have to operate within the international market norms, notably for textiles.”

There is a shared perception between the ginners and analysts that larger unsold stocks lying in ginners’ godowns involving about Rs25 billion may at a stage would force them to sell at the lower rates, market sources said.

The spinners in unison seem to be working on a strategy to play safe and not to indulge in panic selling beyond normal daily consumption demands until the total crop size is out, they said.

It was perhaps in this background that spinners enter the market with large orders and lift all the lots offered for sale, but keep to the sidelines the very next day apparently to keep small ginners at their toes all the time, ginners said.

Meanwhile, private sector exporters have up to Jan 23 registered another 30,000 bales with the Export Promotion Bureau, raising the total to 0.187m bales, against which 0.145m bales have been physical shipped to the foreign buyers.

Official spot rates were firmly held at the last level of Rs2,525 per maund, but on the other hand New York cotton futures suffered sharp decline of 0.95 and 0.91 cents per lb at 55.53 and 56.83 cents for both the ruling March and distant May settlements, respectively.

Ready offtake was light totalling 7,000 bales as under: 2,000 bales, Gothki, Dharki and Mirpur Mathelo at Rs2,525 to Rs2,550; 400 bales, Nawabshah at Rs2,450; 1,000 bales, Multan at 2,525; 1,000 bales, Sadiqabad and 2,000 bales, DG Khan at Rs2,500 to Rs2,525.