May 20, 2006	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 21, 1427

KARACHI, May 19: Cotton prices on Friday eased further as spinners and mills kept to the sidelines partly owing to a short Friday session and partly to spot delivery problems.

Reports coming from the official sources about the normal irrigation water supplies for the sowing of new cotton crop also allied spinner fears about a short crop and they not indulge in panic buying.

“The current lull in the physical trading , however, did worry some of the ginners who still has long unsold positions,” analysts said “but they are not inclined to sell below Rs2,450 per maund, which is said to be above the parity level of spinners.”

Some of the leading spinners whose stock position is fairly comfortable are awaiting the arrival of the new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt where picking operations of phutti have been resumed in some of the areas, they added.

Floor brokers said buying and selling ideas of spinners and ginners are poles apart and as the former are not inclined to go beyond their export parity levels, some of the weak ginners offered to sell at the lower levels.

But some others attributed the fresh fall to quality factors as average quality of unsold stocks lying with some of the ginners is below normal and the official rates committee lowered them.

According to them unsold stocks in ginners’ godowns are around 0.4m bales and the TCP is expected to hold a buffer stock of about 0.250 or 0.3 million bales to meet any crop shortfall and the balance will

be disposed of during the next couple of weeks.

Official spot rates were quoted further lower by Rs25 for the second session in a row at Rs2,425 but some deals in the ready section were done above them.

New York cotton futures remained under pressure and fell by 0.79 and 0.90 cents per lb at 50.02 and 53 cents for both the ruling July and forward October contracts, respectively.

Ready off-take was light by some of the brokers reported about 2,500 bales changed hands mostly in the southern Punjab cotton belt.