KARACHI, March 11: Physical business on the cotton market at the weekend session failed to pick up as price ideas of ginners and spinners failed to find a meeting ground for the third session in a row.
Spinners are willing buyers of low-mix lots around Rs2,400 per maund and that of fine lots at Rs2,525 but ginners are quoting higher prices and the consequent standoff continues, brokers said.
However, stray lots of inferior type from the central Sindh ginneries are changing hands daily as spinners need it for blending purposes to produce lower counts of cotton yarn.
But some brokers said as foreign demand for blended yarn and cloth is on the higher side mostly on the European markets, spinners and mills have increased the use of polyester fibre to honour the export orders.
According to them, the intake of some of the spinners and mills has risen as high as 30 to 40 per cent, which in turn has a negative impact on the cotton demand.
Moreover, some of the spinners are also eying the TCP lint because of its quality for which local and foreign bids will be opened on March 16. But the TCP floated another tender just at the heals of the current one, it could take away the remaining heat from the market, they said.
The TCP has unsold stock of half a million bales in its godowns from the last crop as buffer stock to meet any local emergency in the backdrop of a short crop, some others said.
Meanwhile, private sector exporters have again become active after the persistent fall in New York cotton futures for the last couple of sessions and have registered fresh export contracts for 10,000 bales with Export Promotion Bureau(EPB).
Total forward export deals up to March 7, rose to 0.233m bales against which physical shipments are steadily being made to various importing countries.
Official spot rates were again firmly held at the last levels of Rs2,702 per maund but some of the physical deals were done below that.
New York cotton futures, on the other hand, showed a fresh recovery on revival of international demand and rose by 0.94 and 0.95 cents per lb at 55.11 and 56.32 cents per lb for both the maturing March and the ruling May contracts, respectively.
Ready business was modest totalling 3,000 bales from Khanpur done at Rs2,400 to 2,525 per maund.