KARACHI, May 7: Cotton market on Friday maintained a firm trend as ginners appear to be in no haste to liquidate their unsold positions amid predictions of further increase in prices.

Official spot rates were further raised by Rs25 per maund in line with the average ruling prices at which stray physical business is being transacted daily, indicating the future outlook may remain bullish.

Spinners too have assessed the future price outlook and are willing to pay higher rate of Rs3.100 per maund for lint offered by ginners on one-month credit. The falling unsold stock of about 0.8m bales seems to have put ginners in a commanding position as leading among them are keeping to the sidelines most of the time awaiting further positive developments on the world cotton markets.

"The current price flare-up on the New York Cotton Exchange is limiting spinner options and their capacity to fill-in the supply gaps well in time", market sources said "highly erratic price movements seem to have applied a literal break on their forward buying from the foreign sources at least for the near-term".

The New York cotton futures fell by limit-fall on one day and recover the very next day by the limit-gain never allowing the importers to make a deal. New York cotton futures on Thursday closed higher by 1.82 and 1.21 cents per lb for both the maturing May and the ruling July settlements at 63.75 and 61.75 cents per lb respectively.

And to it higher polyester fibre prices, which spinners use for blending purposes to meet the export demand of both blended cotton yarn and cloth. Meanwhile, foreign sales of cotton by the private sector have risen to 0.2m bales, comprising 12,112 bales of the old crop and 0.189 bales of the current crop up to April 30.

Physical shipments up to March totalled 0.158 bales, the highest monthly figure during the current year being 17,053 bales in March, according to official figures.

On the import front, spinners have imported 0.970m bales up to Feb 28 but unofficial sources said the figure has crossed a million bales around 1.2m bales and shipments are reaching here against the forward deals already signed with the foreign sellers.

Ready offtake was light owing to higher asking prices by the ginners and as a result about 1,500 bales, of low-mic lint from the central Sindh ginners changed hands between Rs2,400 and 2,600 per maund.