KARACHI, Jan 30: Cotton prices on Thursday tended further higher as leading spinners indulged in big-lot business to grab the floating stock amid an actively traded session.

Floor brokers said ginners are not playing to the tune of spinners and mills and accordingly raised their asking prices whenever the latter entered the market to lift all the lots offered for sale.

The fact that some of the deals were finalized around Rs2,300 per maund without 15 per cent sales tax reflects that spinners are not inclined to sit on the sidelines owing to conflicting reports about the size of crop, they said.

“The current stepped up mill buying reflects that leading among them have a fair idea of the crop and are not inclined to await the arrival figures for the fortnight ending Jan 31,” market sources said adding and in the process prices are rising.

The other factor, which has virtually forced spinners to go for hasty buying was the strong presence of the private sector exporters in the market and their hectic covering purchases against forward sales of some major world buyers, they added.

Apart from some leading Far Eastern buyers, strong presence of Bangladesh importers has boosted the ready-buying from the mills and spinners and hence increase prices.

Another contributory supporting factor was further increase in the New York cotton futures, which rose by 0.75 and 0.43 cents per lb at 51.11 and 54.84 for both the ruling March and the distant contracts respectively and sending signals world over that supply and demand factors will guide the future trading in cotton.

Floor brokers said the ruling prices above the 50 cents per lb mark indicate that the local spinners are out of the world market as they may not be in a position to remain competitive on the world textile front after having purchased expensive lint.

“Local prices of lint still appears attractive and those spinners who could witness the developing scenario on the external cotton front may not sit idle and may indulge in panic buying in the sessions to come,” they added.

After remaining static for the last couple of sessions, official spot rates were upped modestly by Rs15 but in the ready section most of the deals were done well above them.

For the second session in a row, ready offtake was active and till late in the evening about 15,000 bales including some big deals changed hands as under:

SINDH VARIETY: 1,200 bales, Khipro at Rs2,125, 200 bales, each Kumb and Chundko at Rs2,230, 1,000 bales, Naushero Feroze at 2,150, 400 bales, Hingorja at 2,000, 2,000 bales, Dharki at 2,250 to 2,275, and 2,000 bales, Mandodaro at 2,300.