June 22, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1427

KARACHI, June 21: Active trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Wednesday as leading spinner groups covered their forward sales of yarn but unlike previous sessions some of the ginners obliged the surging mill demand.

Bulk of the support remained confined to fine lots from the southern Punjab cotton belt leading to big-lot business as spinners and mills tried to grab the floating stock well before the TCP tender on June 26, brokers said.

In sympathy with higher rates at which physical business was transacted, official spot rates were also raised by Rs25 per maund as some of the ginners holding odd lot preferred to sell them around Rs2,650 per maund.

Although ginners raised their asking prices to Rs2,700 per maund but spinners were a bit hesitant to go that far as they were well above their export parity levels, they said, adding “but in the process ginners managed to clinch a better price”. Most of the deals including some big lots were sold around Rs2,650 per maund.

“I am eyeing the figure of Rs2,700 or above it,” says a ginner, who holds bulk of the unsold stock of lint, adding “I have another month or so before I think otherwise”.

Floor brokers said interesting situation is developing on the market in the backdrop of a short crop and a sharp increase in mill demand owing to higher exports and fresh orders for the new fiscal. Next few sessions could be crucial for the future price trend guided by supply and demand factors.

After a couple of lean sessions both in terms of ready off-take and mill demand, official spot rates were revised upward by Rs25 per maund but in the ready section prices were quoted much higher.

New York cotton futures also rose by 0.20 and 0.10 cents at 51.10 and 54.70 cents per lb for both the ruling July and the forward October settlements respectively.

About 10,000 bales changed hands in the ready section, the following being some of the notable deals: 800 bales Shujabad, 2,400 bales, Makhdoom Rashid, at Rs2,600, 1,000 bales, Shahdadpur and Khuzdar at Rs2,650, 200 bales, Nayabad at Rs2,600, 200 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,550 and 2,000 bales, Mehrabpur at Rs2,575.