October 10, 2007	Wednesday	Ramazan 27, 1428

KARACHI, Oct 9: Cotton prices on Tuesday remained depressed due to hasty selling by the ginners despite active demand from mills and spinners.

Some of the deals were done as lower as Rs2,800 per maund but the average rate was around Rs2,825 per maund, while some of the fine lots were traded above this rate.

Both spinners and mills were active buyers at the lower rates and lifted all the lots offered by the ginners below Rs2,850 per maund.

“It appears to be pre-Eid holiday mopping operations by mills and spinners after the government declared four public holidays to celebrate Eid,” said a leading broker, fearing pressure on ready supplies during the closures as spinners opted for panic buying and the consequent stability in prices”.

He said now lint from the southern Punjab is being sold at a premium as compared to its Sindh counterpart for quality reasons as bulk of the business was done around Rs2.825 to Rs2,900 per maund as compared to previous rates.

However, it was not immediately confirmed whether or not the delivery was before Eid holidays, they added.

A section of spinners who have curtailed its daily intake owing to delivery problems as cargo haulers have raised their freight rates are also said to be some of the buyers as they need prompt supplies during the holidays.

Unlike the previous trading sessions, the bulk of mill buying remained confined to southern Punjab types as they need it for blending purposes to produce higher counts of cotton yarn, market sources said.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the Punjab cotton belt indicate that arrivals of phutti into the ginneries are on the lower side of the weekly average as some of the leading growers are holding back their stocks to sell them at higher rates during the post-Eid sessions.

Official spot rates were lowered by Rs25 per maund in line with physical trading on Monday but they resisted fresh fall on Tuesday.

New York cotton futures suffered fresh modest decline of 0.72 cents and 0.79 cent per lb at 59.50 and 62.43 cents for both the ruling October and forward December contracts respectively.

Ready off-take was on the higher side totalling about 15,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals.

SINDH TYPE: 1,000 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,825 to Rs2,840, 400 bales, each Sarhari, Nayabad, Tando Adam, Hala at Rs2,825 and 600 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,800 to Rs2,825.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 200 bales, Vehari at Rs2,800, 1,000 bales, Khanewal at Rs2,865 to Rs2,900, 400 bales, Arifwala at Rs2,850, 600 bales, Burewala at Rs2,825, 400 bales, Kabirwala at Rs2,865 to Rs2,900, 400 bales Haroonabad and 200 bales, each Gaggon and Pir Mahat Rs2,825, 400 bales, Rajanpur and 200 bales, Fazalpur at Rs2,875.