April 03, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429

KARACHI, April 2: Spinners resumed normal covering operations on Wednesday against forward sale of yarn and cloth ahead of release of final crop figures by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association, possibly on Thursday.

Although there may not be a big change in the figures, according to a private survey, of around 10.16 million bales, mills and spinners decided to lift as many lots as they could in an apparent effort to be safe from any increase in prices in the post-arrival figure trading, floor brokers said.

As a result, well over 10,000 bales changed hands, mostly from the southern Punjab cotton belt at Rs3,300 on the lower side and at Rs3,530 on the higher side, respectively, depending on the quality of lint, they added.

Spinners and mills worried over the unsold stocks with the ginners after the final crop figures as it will continue to fuel prices higher till the new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt arrives, said a leading cotton analyst, Naseem Usman.

He said that the unsold stocks may not be more than a million bales that could well mean that local supply position may remain tight, leading to a fresh increase in prices.

They said that the fact that some of the fine lots were traded as higher as Rs3,530 per maund reflects some of the leading spinners are out to grab the floating stock, irrespective of the price tag.

However, the next few sessions will show the price trend as the New York cotton futures have also staged a rebound from the Tuesday’s recent lows after having absorbed the negative impact of higher US cotton planting intentions.

Official spot rates were, therefore, held unchanged at Rs3,300 per maund but on the other hand, New York cotton futures recovered by 1.11 cents and 1.15 cents per lb at 70.45 cents and 73.95 cents for both the ruling May and the new crop July settlements, respectively.

Ready off-take was on the higher side amounting to well over 10,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals: 1,200 bales, Khanpur at Rs3,500; 2,000 bales, Vehari at Rs3,530; 1,000 bales, Lodhran at Rs3,500; 1,400 bales, Yazman at Rs3,430; 1,000 bales, Kehror Pacca at Rs3,400; 600 bales, Ghazi Ghat at Rs3,300; 600 bales, Rahim Yar Khan at Rs3,400 and 400 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs3,350.