KARACHI, July 11: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on a dull note as spinners and mills kept on the sidelines apparently awaiting the outcome of TCP auction for 85,000 bales. According to market sources, most of the leading spinner groups have fully participated in the current auction as the TCP is said to be close to its upper limit of local selling.

“It is a month’s time to meet the official deadline set for the TCP to sell the surplus stocks, of course, at a competitive prices,” they said.

After keeping a viable buffer stock, the TCP has been directed by the government some months back to close the sale by August 15 as by that time new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt is expected to find its way into the market.

The TCP has during the current season procured 16.5m bales of mostly fine quality direct from the ginners at Rs2,159 per 40 kg and is now selling it at an average price of Rs24 after adding overheads.

Bulk of the lint about half a million bales has been purchased by the local spinners so far as they are in the process of covering purchases against their forward sales of textiles to foreign buyers.

Unconfirmed reports said most of the bids of spinners and mills have been accepted by the TCP official rate committee, while there is no report about the foreign bidders, market sources said.

Meanwhile, some of the private sector exporters have registered another 38,059 bales of lint in June, raising the total to 0.0.770m bales up to June 30, 2005.

However, physical shipments against the foreign sales to various countries up to April 30, 2005 are around 0.434m bales, the figure could be around 0.600m bales after adding shipments during the month of May and June, market sources said.

Official spot rates were again held unchanged at Rs2,325 but in physical trading fine varieties are being quoted around Rs2,400 but details of ready off-take were not available from the brokers.