July 25, 2006	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 28, 1427

KARACHI, July 24: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on a steady note but physical activity remained slow as ginners raised their asking prices followed reports of fresh rain in the lower Sindh cotton belt.

The ginners raised their asking prices by Rs25 to Rs50 per maund to around Rs2,500, but spinners were not inclined to match them and as a result, ready offtake remained light.

Market sources said there could be a pressure on new crop ready supplies for the next couple of sessions, as the ginners did not accept wet phutti because of higher weight than the dry one, which added to their overhead costs. It also gets heated being rain-soaked.

Floor brokers said the report of delay in arrival of phutti into the ginneries for about a week in the backdrop of Sunday’s rain as picking operations are suspended in wet fields was an aiding bullish factor.

Moreover, growers did not allow picking of phutti in wet fields because the quality of phutti, notably staple length was damaged owing to the moisture and rain drops both on bolls and those which were ripe for picking, they said.

Cotton pickers, notably women also stay away from the wet fields as they affect their daily operational activity, some others said.

The general perception is that the market could heat up in the coming sessions despite the fresh TCP tender for 36,000 bales against which bids are expected to be opened on July 27.

Unlike the previous one, the current one could be a success as spinners and mills would raise their bid prices owing to an increase in new crop lint, dealers said. In its previous tender, the TCP could sell only 14,000 bales against the offer of 42,000 bales of different quality.

Official spot rates were, therefore, firmly held at the last close but some of the deals in the current crop were noted above them.

Local brokers did not report any deal in the new crop but said about 1,500 bales of the current crop both from central Sindh and Punjab changed hands at above Rs2,500 per maund.