January 03, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 23, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 2: Cotton market on Wednesday showed firm trend as prices were quoted higher by Rs50 per maund amid briskly traded session.

Floor brokers said panic mill buying followed reports of burning of substantial stocks of lint in the mills and on the roads in containers after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and the loss figures are being collected at various levels.

Fears that loss could significantly add to a short crop triggered panic buying, both from spinners and mills, causing fresh increase in prices, they added.

As a result, about 40,000 bales, including some big lots of 3,000 to 4,000 bales, changed hands between Rs3,125 to 3,200 per maund depending on the quality of lint in trade.

“There appears to be a battle among spinners and mills to grab the floating stock of lint from ginners,” said a leading cotton analyst Naseem Usman, adding “it was one of the major causes behind the panic.”

But he says it may not be possible for them to check the price increase, which will be based on supply and demand factors in the backdrop of higher world prices.

Spinners said higher prices in the world, including in India, are expected to significantly add to the production costs, creating problems on the export front for textile sector and that is perhaps why there was a price war for the local stuff.

Official spot rates were quoted higher by Rs50 per maund at Rs3,075, but in the ready section, bulk of the business is done well above them.

The following are some of the deals, which went through on Wednesday:

SINDH TYPE: 1,800 bales, Dadu, 500 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs3,150, and 1,000 bales, Khairpur at 3,125 to 3,150.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,000 bales each Rahimyar Khan, Liaquatpur, at Rs3,150, 4,000 bales, Sadiqabad at 3,150 to 3,200, 1,600 bales, Rajanpur at 3,150, 3,000 bales, Ahmedpur East at 3,125 to 3,200, 2,000 bales, Bahawalpur, 1,000 bales, Uch Sharif, 800 bales, Mohammadpur Dewan at 3,125, 1,000 bales, Feroza at 3,200, and 200 bales, Dunyapur also at 3,200. There were several other deals done between Rs3,125 and 3,165.