KARACHI, Sept 6: Cotton market on Tuesday resisted fresh decline as spinners resorted to active buying at the dips but ginners held on to their unsold positions later after having raised their asking prices.
After last couple of sessions’ persistent decline, which chipped away Rs300 per maund from the early season rates, official spot rates were marked higher by Rs25, indicating they could rise further in the coming weeks.
About 10,000 bales changed hands, mostly in lower Sindh variety at early decline, which also included some big deals of more than 2,000 bales by a single buyer, brokers said.
Reports that the government would direct the TCP to intervene if phutti prices declined below the support price of Rs975 per 40 kg seems to be the chief stabilizing factor checking fresh price decline, they said.
The official warning about the induction of TCP, which still hold an unsold stock of about 0.4 million bales from the previous crop seemed to have an immediate positive impact on prices, halting the recent decline, market sources said.
Earlier, in the session some big lots changed hands between Rs2,000 per maund but later some of the deals were done as higher as Rs2,100 in Sindh type.
The Punjab variety did not show major change as most of the deals were done between Rs2,150 to Rs2,200 depending on the quality of lint.
Indications are that reports about a good crop may not push prices lower again as the induction of the TCP in the cotton trade could well prove a price stabilizing factor in the weeks to come, brokers said.
Ready business was brisk as spinners and mills resumed their normal operations at the prevailing prices. About 10,000 bales changed hands the following being some of the notable deals.
SINDH TYPE: 2,200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,000 to Rs2,075, 1,000 bales, each Tando Ghulam Mohammad and Shahdadpur at Rs2,100 to Rs2,140, 1,000 bales Sanghar at Rs2,085 to Rs2,100, 800 bales, Khipro at Rs2,025 to Rs2,075 and 200 bales, Pithero at Rs2,050.
PUNJAB VARIETY: 500 bales, Bahawalnagar and 400 bales, Arifwala at Rs2,175, 400 bales, Bharwana at Rs2,150, 200 bales, each Gaggon and Chichawatani at Rs2,200 and 400 bales, Burewala at Rs2,220.