April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

KARACHI, April 14: Trading on the cotton market failed to pick up on Monday as price ideas of both sellers and buyers were poles apart, followed by reports that ginners were reluctant sellers at the spinners’ buying offers, floor brokers said.

“In a tight supply position, ginners mostly edge over spinners, and leading among them, who still hold a bulk of the unsold stocks of lint are not inclined to go beyond their parity levels,” they said.

No one could deny the fact that the market currently is in the tight grip of ginners and they did not appear to be in a hurry to unload their positions, the brokers added.

“After having liquidated their positions at varied rates because of their weak holding positions, small ginners are now out of the market,” said a cotton analyst, adding: “bulk of the unsold stock is now in the godowns of leading ginners, having strong holding capacity and they sell at will, mostly at their asking prices”.

According unofficial reports, the figure of unsold stocks has dropped to half a million bales, which, the ginners said, could be disposed of within a couple of days.

But some leading spinners say ginner price ideas above Rs3,500 per maund may not be competitive as spinners, after having imported well over three million bales, may not be in an obliging mood beyond this rate.

The physical activity, therefore, may not follow any set pattern during the coming weeks as both the sellers and buyers are locked in a battle of wits to outwit each other, they said. But it appears to be a no-win situation, they added.

It was perhaps in this background that the official spot rates were firmly held at the last level of Rs3,300 per maund.

Mills ready off-take was on the lower side as only 400 bales from a Liaquatpur ginnery changed hands at Rs3,375 per maund.