KARACHI, June 14: Cotton prices on Friday rose further as spinners and mills remained active buyers around the current levels amid predictions of continued bull-run until the new crop arrives.

The major spinners thrust was again on the fine lots, which they need to spin higher counts of cotton yarn against their forward orders from the Far Eastern buyers for the quarter ending June 30, 2002, dealers said.

An idea of strong mill buying may well be had from the fact that a forward deal of 500 bales was finalized at Rs1,950 per maund, indicating the current bull-run could be sustained in the coming sessions also, they added.

There is a loud whispering in the market some leading spinners are willing buyers at Rs2,000 per maund for those fine lots which conform to their export parity levels, notably contamination-free one, market sources said.

“The contamination-free lots processed for the TCP according to international ginning standards are now being offered to spinners by the ginners from model ginning factories and elsewhere in the central Punjab”, they added.

As the TCP has withdrawn to the sidelines as the market did not needs its support amid rising prices, spinners and exporters are left in the market as main buyers.

“But it is unlikely that exporters could indulge in speculative buying as they have to follow the world export parity level and hardly can go beyond it”, brokers said and is “perhaps why there is no possibility of price war between the two”.

Moreover, exports need inferior lint against their forward sales, while spinners appear to be after each quality lot irrespective of the asking prices.

Official spot rates were marked up by Rs25 per maund at Rs1,700 per maund but in physical trading most of the deals were done at much higher levels.

New York cotton futures on the other hand failed to sustain the overnight run-up and ran into profit-selling, off 0.53 and 0.38 cents per lb at 39.54 and 42.05 cents per lb for both the ruling July and the distant October settlements respectively.

Ready offtake was modest and confined to premiums lots as under: 500 bales, Samundri at Rs1,950 (one month credit), 1,100 bales, Ahmedpur East at Rs1,850, 600 bales, Liaquatpur at Rs1,700 and 400 bales, Jhole at Rs1,700.