July 26, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 10, 1428

KARACHI, July 25: Physical activity on the cotton market on Wednesday picked up after couple of sluggish sessions as spinners and mills were out to grab the floating stock of new crop irrespective of the asking prices.

As a result, some of the lots from the lower Sindh cotton belt were sold at seasonal peak level of Rs3,150, which in normal trading conditions fetches Rs100 per maund lower as compared to its counterpart in the Punjab cotton belt.Floor brokers said spinners and mills were not inclined to adhere to varietal differences of the staple fibre but were worried over the future price outlook and the supply position.

They said prices were expected to set new high record in the coming weeks as the late pick up in mill demand could cause price flare-up.

The interesting feature is that unlike the previous sessions spinners are out to grab the floating stock of Sindh lint not at a discount but at a premium over its Punjab counterpart, they said.

The pressure on ready supply of the new crop, higher phutti prices and a short Sindh crop are said to be the main factors behind the current surge in prices to new seasonal highs, market sources said.

They said fresh rise in New York cotton futures also worried spinners as their hopes of further fall in prices below 60 cents per lb may not have any relevance to the developing situation on the world cotton front.

After last couple of sessions’ decline, the New York cotton futures recovered to close higher by 0.85 and 1.05 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December contracts at 61.85 and 63.85 cents respectively.

But on the other hand local official spot rates were firmly held unchanged at Rs2,900, although most of the deals were done sharply higher as compared to it.

Ready offtake was active totalling about 4,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH VARITY: 400 bales, Sultanabad at Rs3,085 and 400 bales at Rs3,095, 200 and 400 bales, Sanghar and Tando Adam at Rs3,075, 200 bales, Hyderabad at Rs3,090, 100 bales each, Shahdadpur at Rs3,090 and Rs3,100 and 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs3,150.

PUNJAB TYPE: 200 bales, Sahiwal at Rs3,150 and 600 bales, Burewala at Rs3,135-3,150.

The following are Wednesday’s new crop Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) official spot rates for local dealings in Pak rupees for base grade 3 staple length 1-1/32” micronair value between 3.8 to 4.9 NCL.

Rate for Ex-Gin Price Up-country Spot rate

Expenses Ex-Karachi

37.324 kgs 2,900 50 2,950.00

Equivalent

40 kgs 3,108 50 3,158.00