KARACHI, July 25: New crop cotton prices on Friday rose further higher followed by reports that fresh rain in the lower Sindh could delay the picking operations of phutti.

Some of the deals were finalized at Rs2,450 per maund, Rs25 higher than the overnight rates and brokers predict fresh increase in prices in the coming sessions provided the ginning operations are further delayed.

An idea of pressure on supplies may well be had from the fact that a spinner holding stocks of current crop more than his consumption needs sold a big-lot of 1,300 bales to another spinner at Rs2,600 per maund without 15 per cent sales tax.

“Spinners who are terribly short of immediate supplies of lint are said to be making frantic effort to cover positions irrespective of the asking prices”, says a broker.

The fresh rain spell has not only halted the arrivals of phutti into the ginneries but also caused an interruption in their operations where stray stocks of phutti were available.

“We have no stock of phutti in our ginneries as arrivals are drying up each day as growers don’t take risk sending wet stuff as it damages the quality of fibre”, ginners say.

However, reports coming from some of the remote areas of the Sindh cotton belt suggest that picking operations have resumed there but the arrivals of phutti are too meagre to supplement the supply position and normal mill intake, they said.

Market sources said the cotton situation may remain uncertain until the current spell of monsoon is over and normal picking operations of phutti are resumed in the lower Sindh cotton belt.

They said unconfirmed reports claim that rains have damaged standing crops in some of the areas but the details are not readily available with the ginners or the spinners.

It is speculated that lint prices may rise further from the current levels possibly to Rs2,500 per maund as supply and demand factors are currently guiding the market trend.

Both the growers and the ginners are claimed to be the major beneficiaries of the current rain, while spinners are at the receiving end as they have to buy expensive lint.

Official spot rates of the current crop were firmly held at the last levels because of fresh increase in the new crop prices.

New York cotton futures which had received massive battering during the last couple of sessions attracted support at the lower levels and were marked up by 1.23 and 1.30 cents at 58.83 and 60.57 cents per lb respectively for both the ruling October and the distant December contracts.

Ready offtake was modest totalling about 2,000 bales including 1,300 bales of the current crop. New crop from the Sindh ginneries was traded as under: 100 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,450 and 500 bales, Sultanabad also at Rs2,450.