April 28, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1428

KARACHI, April 27: Trading on the cotton market on Friday remained slow in the absence of southern Punjab ginners who observe Friday as a weekly holiday and did not indulge in physical activity.

But some local brokers said stray lots from the central Sindh and upper Punjab cotton belts did change hands depending on the quality of lint mostly below Rs2,800 per maund.

They said continued fall in the New York cotton futures below the benchmark of 50 cents per lb has changed the world price outlook and buyers are keeping to the sidelines allowing the market settles down.

Local spinners, who still need about 2m bales of foreign lint, also followed the lead of other buyers hoping further decline in prices as speculative selling continues, market source said.

The New York cotton futures on Thursday fell by 1.20 and 1.24 cents at 47.70 and 49.99 cents per lb for both the ruling May and forward July contracts, respectively.

Spinners said if the major consumer of foreign lint, notably the US, could wait for another couple of weeks withholding their buying offers, prices could fall further.

And that is perhaps why they are out of the market as foreign lint is progressively falling in line with their export parity levels, making textile exports more competitive.

Meanwhile, some of the spinners and mills are also awaiting the release of final crop figures for the current season by the Pakistan Ginners Association, possibly by the next week.

Official spot rates resisted fresh fall and were quoted at the overnight level of Rs2,700 per maund.

Some brokers sold about 2,500 bales of Sindh type at various rates, the highest being Rs2,725.