April 07, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1428

KARACHI, April 6: Cotton market on Friday maintained bullish trend as prices were quoted further higher by Rs25 per maund for an average quality of lint. But fine varieties, both from the upper Sindh and the southern Punjab ginneries were sold between Rs2,750 to Rs2,800 per maund, depending on the quality of lint, floor brokers said.

But physical business was on the lower side of the daily average partly owing to Friday and partly to higher asking prices by the ginners, they said.

“We have to think twice before going for fresh buying as the local rates have soared well over our export parity levels,” spinners said, adding “hard-hit are those who could not build up long stock positions early in the season”.Supply and demand figures indicate that the current year may be a bit difficult for the textile sector already under pressure of the falling world demand, market sources said.The reports of falling textile export and lower world rates are already working against the future export projections of both the spinners and the composite textile sector and the lower crop has added to their worries, they said.

Reports of forward import deals are circulating in the market but there are no official word on the rumoured total of well over half a million bales, a good part of which is said to have already reached in some of the leading spinning units.

Analysts said the next couple of weeks may be very crucial for the spinners and mills as their chief worry would be how to remain competitive on the world markets in the changing scenario.

Official rates were further raised by Rs25 per maund but they were far below at which physical business was being transacted in the ready section.

New York cotton futures on the other hand remained under pressure and suffered fresh fall of 0.35 and 0.19 cents at 52.91 and 54.55 cents per lb for both the ruling May and the forward July contracts respectively.

Ready off-take was light totalling about 2,000 bales as under: 200 bales, each Sarhari, Khadro, Kehror Pacca and 400 bales, Lodhran at Rs2,750 and 400 bales, Khanpur at Rs2,800.