AFTER having suffered sharp fall during the previous week, prices of most of the essential items remained stable but still at higher levels and needed further pruning.

Dealers said leading stockists seemed to have decided to forestall further fall in prices and did not indulge in fresh selling in an apparent attempt to create shortage of essential items to keep prices at the last week’s levels.

As a result, physical trading early in the week remained at a low ebb as leading brokerage houses remained conspicuous by their absence from the active market, but picked up after mid-week as brokers played on both sides of the fence rolling positions from one counter to the other, they added.

They said arrivals from upcountry markets were normal but failed to push price lower owing to strong holding being maintained by commercial houses.

The interesting feature of the week’s trading was that rice prices were firmly held at the last levels owing to steady exports as a rice loader remained in the port throughout the week, they said.

But as expected prices were maintained at the previous levels as higher production figures failed to push prices further down due to brisk activity on the export front.

Market sources said private sector exporters were in the market in a big way and covering their forward positions against forward sales, which in turn forestalled fresh fall in prices.

About two dozen sugar mills in Sindh, excluding seven, had resumed normal crushing, and the new crop sugar was expected to reach the market by end of this month, they said. But it was not clear whether prices would fall further from the present higher rates after the arrival of the new crop, they added.

Other essential items were mostly traded at the last levels under the lead of wheat and imported types of pulses, mainly masoor, urad and some others.

But steep fall in prices of gram whole and gram dal was welcomed by consumers, although dealers failed to specify the reasons behind the large selling, some others said.

The mid-week advance on some counters was led by IRRI varieties of rice, which were marked up by Rs100-200 per bag on higher exports of the new crop.

But barring new basmati crop, which fell by Rs100, sela and kernel varieties were traded at previous levels despite reports that Saudi Arabia will purchase a million tons.

IRRI broken was an exception, which was marked down by Rs200 per bag on selling by local stockists followed by reports of steady new crop arrivals from Sindh markets.

Among other essentials, masoor was quoted higher by Rs500 per bag followed by reports of problems on the import front, while others were held unchanged under the lead of gram whole and gram dal.

Despite steady arrivals of the imported stuff, wheat prices rose by Rs50 after having remaining stable at previous levels for the last couple of weeks. Sugar also suffered a fresh fall ranging between Rs100 and Rs300 per bag on selling followed by reports that most of the Sindh mills had resumed crushing operations and new stuff would arrive by the end of the current month or early next month.

Desi sugar and gur followed it and were quoted lower by Rs100 each in the absence of strong local demand and steady arrivals.

Among cereals both maize and jowar remained under pressure and fell by Rs50-75 but guar seed managed to rise by Rs50, while bajra resisted fresh fall.

Oilseed sector also remained under pressure under the lead of cotton, cottonseed and rapeseed on active selling and suffered fall ranging from Rs75 to Rs250. Til followed them and was quoted lower by Rs200 followed by reports of fall in export demand.

Oilcakes also followed the lead of oilseeds and were marked down by Rs20-35 to 50 per 40 kg on active selling followed by reports of steady new crop arrivals.—M.A.