June 27, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 22, 1429

KARACHI, June 26: After remaining static for the last couple of weeks, cotton spot rates were revised downward by Rs50 per maund by the official rate committee as some of the ginners opted to sell their odd lots.

However, floor brokers attributed the price fall to quality factors as those ginners holding on to stray lots for a still better price sold them apparently to meet bank deadline of June 30, to adjust overdraft limits.

The leading ginners, who hold bulk of the unsold stock, are not worried over the decline in prices and said that it did not reflect their general perception about the future price outlook, they said.

“Steady arrivals of phutti into the ginneries of both lower Sindh and central Punjab cotton belts appear to be another bearish factor amid fears that the fall in new crop price could have the negative impact on the current lint,” they added.

However, the ginners of southern Punjab cotton belt, with 35,000 bales, held on to their unsold positions amid market talk of fresh rise in lint prices.

They said the New York cotton futures were steadily rising apparently to 80-cent per lb mark for the new crop October contract followed by reports of damage to standing US crop in some of the areas.

Market sources said lint prices were expected to be determined possibly by first week of the next month when some of the ginneries in the central Punjab cotton belt are expected to resume ginning operations and will name their prices on the ready basis.

New York cotton futures were quoted higher by 0.79 and 0.71 cents per lb at 72.98 and 77.51 cents for both the ruling

July and distant October, respectively.

Official spot rates were also lowered by Rs50 per maund at Rs3,750.Mill ready off-take was light as ginners remained conspicuous by their absence but an exporter sold a lot of 1,000 bales to mills at Rs3,750 per maund.