KARACHI, Aug 7: Cotton prices on Wednesday hit new seasonal peak as spinners again indulged in panic-buying amid reports of slow arrivals from the lower Sindh ginneries.

Some of the deals in the new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt were finalized at Rs.2,150, which is claimed by brokers a seasonal peak so far during the current season.

Spinners are not inclined to take even a technical breather for reasons not immediately known to the cotton analysts, they added.

“There is really something disturbing,” says a leading broker adding “the prevailing panic among the spinners is certainly not conforming to the objective conditions in the cotton trade it may have some other factors behind.”

After having imported 1.2m bales from various countries in the backdrop of a local bumper crop of over 10m bales, the supply position is more than sufficient keeping in view the annual intake of mills.

“The total availability of the current crop together with the imported stuff comes to over 11m bales, which the local industry could hardly consume despite increase in textile quota by the US and European Union,” says a leading cotton analyst.

He says spinners may have, through their own surveys, a fair idea of the new crop and the likely production, which is forcing them to indulge in panic-buying just at the start of the season.

“New crop prices do rise depending on the supply and demand factors but seldom warrant panic-buying,” he says adding “strong feelers of a short world crop owing to extensive damages in China and the US may be one of the reasons behind the panic in the textile sector.”

Market sources said the market appears to be in the tight grip of the growers who setting the price trend after holding on to its stocks of phutti.

There was, however, no change in the official spot rates but New York cotton futures finished higher by 0.58 and 0.35 cents per lb at 44.80 and 46.14 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December settlements respectively.

Ready offtake was active as till late in the evening about 3,000 bales of new crop mainly from Sindh changed hands as under: 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs.2,100, 500 bales, at 2,125, and 100 bales at 2,150, 400 bales, Sultanabad at 2,100, 100 bales at 2,125 and 100 bales at 2,050, 200 bales, Sanghar at 2,100 and 200 bales, Burewala at 2,150.