April 05, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1429

KARACHI, April 4: Trading on the cotton market was maintained on the higher side on Friday as both spinners and ginners tried to straighten their respective stock and supply positions ahead of the final crop arrivals.

About 20,000 bales, including some big lots, changed hands as spinners and mills were out to grab the floating stock fearing a fresh increase in prices, but ginners are also awaiting their turn to dictate their asking prices at the end of the season, floor brokers said.

There may be a slight change in the widely speculated total crop of 10.16m bales, but what worries spinners is quality of lint lying in the godowns of ginners, they said.

“Some of the leading mills need fine lots against forward sales of end-products to foreign buyers but they failed to ascertain the exact amount of unsold stocks so far,” some others said, adding all agree that the unsold stock of lint may not be more than a million bales.”

The other worry of the spinners and the mills is that foreign markets are again heating up on speculative buying by the trade and additional supplies, which they need may be more expensive, they added.

It was perhaps in this background that while ginners tried to clear the backlog of their inferior and medium quality stuff between the offered spinner prices of Rs3,110 to 3,300 per maund and in most cases spinners obliged them, but there was no major breakthrough in fine lots, they said.

However, a wide difference of about Rs400 per maund in the inferior and fine lots reflects that spinners and mills are trying to remain competitive after buying them at the highest and lowest rates, some others said.

Official spot rates were again firmly held at the last level of Rs3,300 per maund, but on the other hand, New York cotton futures were quoted modestly higher by 0.23 and 0.26 cents at 70.41 and 73.92 cents per lb, respectively.

Mills ready off-take was on the higher side as some of the ginners tried to clear their unsold positions at the current levels.

The following are details of the ready business.

SINDH TYPE: 1,400 bales, upper Sindh at Rs3,400 to Rs3,450.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 2,400 bales, Bahawalpur at Rs3,110 to Rs3,150; 400 bales, Hasilpur at Rs3,300; 1,000 bales, Rahimyar Khan at Rs3,350 and 1,600 bales Sadiqabad also at Rs3,350 and 1,000 bales at Rs3,400; 1,700 bales, Lodhran at Rs3,325 to Rs3,400; 400 bales each Vehari and D G Khan at Rs3,500.