May 21, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 22, 1427

KARACHI, May 20: Cotton market finished the weekend session on a steady note as official spot rates were firmly held at the previous levels amid falling mills’ demand.

Floor brokers said spinners and mills were again conspicuous by their absence as price ideas failed to find a meeting ground amid reports that ginners were not inclined to lower their selling prices in line with the New York cotton futures.

Leading ginners who still hold bulk of the unsold stock are least worried over the continued absence of buyers from the trading arena and hoped that they will be back to cover their forward export positions, they said.

But reports coming from the southern Punjab cotton belt, where bulk of the unsold stock is with the ginners, said stray business is being transacted daily as most of the Punjab spinners are in the market and lifting modest lots around Rs2,450 per maund.

However, the local market was terribly dull as no spinner placed orders with the brokers amid reports that some of the upper Sindh ginners are not inclined to sell below Rs2,500 per maund.

Some of the leading mills, which hold comfortable stock positions, are mostly staying out of the market and are not inclined to buy above Rs2,450, being their export parity level, some others said.

Meanwhile, sowing of the new crop in major growing areas is reported to be in full swing as sufficient irrigation water has been released in the canal system to complete the process in an officially fixed suitable time up to June 15.

Official spot rates were, therefore, held unchanged at the previous levels but stray deals were done above them.

New York cotton futures on the other hand remained under pressure for the last couple of sessions and fell further by 0.66 and 0.60 cents per lb at 49.36 and 52.40 cents per lb for both the ruling July and the new crop October delivery, respectively.

On the ready section a deal for 600 bales was reported as an exporter sold it to mills at Rs2,500 per maund.