KARACHI, Sept 9: After having risen by Rs75 during the last three sessions, cotton prices on Friday eased from the recent highs as spinners withdrew to the sidelines apparently in the backdrop of recent TCP tender for another 50,000 bales on Sept 15. Official spot rates were lowered by Rs25 per maund, although most of the deals in the ready section were finalized below them depending on quality.

Floor brokers said prices should have risen further followed by reports of rain in the lower Sindh cotton belt, which may delay phutti picking operations curtailing arrivals into the ginneries, but instead prices fell owing to negative news from the Punjab cotton belt.

Some of the ginners, according to market sources, indulged in hasty selling after sharp fall in the prices of Punjab variety following reports that phutti arrivals were picking up.

Most of the deals in Punjab variety were done well below the last couple of sessions’ average rate of Rs2,200 per maund to Rs2,125 per maund and brokers said prices could ease further if the current pace of arrivals was sustained.

Meanwhile, leading exporters, spinners and mills were keenly evaluating the benchmark price of the current TCP tender for local and foreign sales.

Floor brokers said the general perception among the mills was that the TCP bid price could have a negative impact on the local selling rates and curtailed their daily intake.

But some others said local lint prices have fallen in sympathy with the New York cotton futures, which came in for active speculative selling at the higher levels.

New York cotton futures were marked down by 0.88 and 0.87 cents at 50.37 and 52.01 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December settlements respectively.

Ready off-take was relatively slow as about 6,000 bales changed hands as under.

SINDH VARIETY: 2,600 bales, Shadadkot at Rs2,150 to Rs2,160, 600 bales, Tando Ghulam Muhammad at Rs2,150 and 200 bales, Shahpur Chakkar at Rs2,150, 1,000 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,110 to Rs2,125, 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,125 and 400 bales, Sarari at Rs2,150.