  The data from the first measurement, performed at ANKE/COSY, of the
unpolarized cross section of the reaction $pd\to (pp)n$ in the kinematics of
backward elastic $pd\to dp$ scattering at proton-beam energies between 0.6 and
1.9 GeV are analyzed in a phenomenological approach. The $pd\to (pp)n$ data and
the triplet cross section of the reaction $pd\to (pn)p$, calculated from the
$pd\to dp$ data on the basis of the F\"aldt-Wilkin extrapolation, are used here
to derive the ratio $\zeta$ of the singlet production matrix element squared to
the triplet one. This ratio, defined in our earlier analysis of $pd\to (pn)p$
data in a largely model-independent way, depends on the dynamics of the $pd$
interaction. We find here
  $\zeta\approx 0.02$ and show that the smallness of this value may point
toward softness of the deuteron at short NN distances.
