July 06, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 9, 1427

KARACHI, July 5: Trading on the cotton market on Wednesday failed to pick up as price ideas of buyers and sellers failed to find a meeting ground for the second session in a row.

Although spinners and mills still need a substantial quantity of lint before the normal arrival of the new crop, they are looking for lint at competitive rates, floor brokers said.

But on the other hand ginners appear to be in no hurry as the unsold stocks lying in their godowns are manageable and in no way are a financial problem for them as they have already renewed their bank overdraft limits, they added.

Leading spinners and mills are eyeing the TCP lint for which bids to be opened on July 10 and are inclined to get it even at a much higher price as compared to demanded by the ginners, some others said.

The current tender for the sale of 42,000 bales being offered by the TCP is said to be last one as the TCP high-ups are acting as market stabiliser to ensure a fair price to the growers for the new crop.

“But as a second buyer, the TCP would not enter the new crop market immediately and will allow the spinners and mills as first buyers to cover their positions,” market sources said.

Meanwhile, reports reaching here from the lower Sindh cotton belt indicate that some of the ginners are planning to resume ginning operations on a modest scale during the next couple of days as the arrivals of phutti into the ginneries are picking up progressively.Though on a modest scale, the new crop is expected to find its way into the market by the end of the current month around Rs2,650 per maund.

Official spot rates were again firmly held at the overnight level of Rs2,600 but some of the deals were done slightly above this rate.

Ready business was light as till late in the evening about 3,000 bales of low-mic both from the central Sindh and Punjab are reported to have changed hands around Rs2,650 and slightly below this rate, market sources said.