February 01, 2007	Thursday	Muharram 12, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 31: Trading activity on the cotton market on Wednesday failed to pick up as both the sellers and the buyers appear to be in post-holiday mood. Pre-Ashura holding mood prevailed owing to delivery problems and as a result for the second session in a row, no deal was officially reported to the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) by the brokerage houses.

Normal activity is expected to be resumed by tomorrow as spinners, who are in a short position, will not sit on the sidelines after their week’s absence.

But some of the brokers, who had close link with the ginners both in the Sindh and the Punjab cotton belts, said stray lots did change hands in fine varieties in the southern Punjab cotton belt.

Some of the leading spinners and mills were said to be buyers around Rs2,625 on the higher side for fine lots, while inferior lots, notably from the central Sindh cotton belt are quoted around Rs2,500 or slightly below this level, they said.

Meanwhile, arrival figures of phutti for the fortnight ended January 31, are due during the next couple of sessions and indications are that they are expected to be in line with market projections owing to steady arrivals from the Punjab ginneries.

Leading brokers said the total crop is expected to be in line with the official revised total of 12.5m bales and predicted that prices are expected to remain stable around the current levels.

Official spot rates were firmly held at the weekend level of Rs2,550 per maund, although ginner asking prices were a bit higher.

Ready off-take was dull but some brokers said stray lots did change hands for ready delivery from the Punjab cotton belt, deals were, however, not available.