August 27, 2006	Sunday	Sha'aban 2, 1427

KARACHI, Aug 26: Cotton market on Saturday showed steady trend as mill demand picked up amid fears of damage to standing crop in the Sindh cotton belt because of recent rain.

There is no official word on the damage, but reports reaching here from various private sources indicate 8 to 10 per cent loss, floor brokers said.

An increase of about Rs100 per maund in the selling prices both in Sindh and the central Punjab cotton belts reflects cotton crop has been affected but it is too early to say something about the percentage, they added.

Phutti arrivals from some areas of Sindh cotton belt are improving but they are still on the lower side of the daily average as compared to comparable period of the last season.

“But the developing situation on the cotton front reflects that it could well prove a difficult year for the spinners and mills based on supply and demand factors,” says a leading ginner.

What was more disturbing was that New York cotton futures ruling well over 50 cents per lb could further accentuate the supply problems elsewhere including Pakistan, he said.

The ruling new lint crop prices around Rs2,600 per maund are much higher viewed in the perspective of export parity level of the textile industry and may affect exports both in value and volume, spinners fear.

However, spinners hope official intervention in the form of some supporting factors to keep the industry competitive on the export front, they added.

Official spot rates were firmly held at the last level of Rs2,475 as most of the deals were done well above them in the ready section.

New York cotton futures on the other hand recovered from the previous lows on revival of speculative support and recovered to close higher by 0.40 and 0.47 cents at 53.50 and 55.60 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the December settlements respectively.

Ready business was light at 1,000 bales but reflected that both the buyers and sellers found a meeting ground.

Some of the notable deals are as under: 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,500, 200 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,525, 200 bales, each Sahiwal and Chichawatni at Rs2,600 and 200 bales, Mongi Banglow at Rs2,625.