KARACHI, Aug 31: Cotton market on Wednesday resisted fresh decline as unlike the previous sessions, ginners held onto their unsold positions rather than selling at the lower rates.

However, lint from the lower Sindh ginneries remained a bit weak as some of the deals were finalized below Rs2,200 per maund but Punjab variety was sold around the previous levels because of quality differentials, brokers said.

Steep increase in the New York cotton futures was another stabilizing factor allowing ginners a breathing space to have an overview of the objective conditions prevailing to supply and demand factors, they said.

Both the ruling October and the distant December contracts were quoted higher by 1.12 and 1.14 cents at 48.75 and 50.28 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December settlements because of damage to standing crop in the US by the hurricane Katrina.

Moreover, a modest decline in arrivals of phutti into the Sindh ginneries was another positive development as growers held onto their positions apparently applying a break on the falling prices, they added.

“Irrespective of the increase in New cotton futures, there is no possibility of an identical rise in local prices,” predicts a leading broker “after having made substantial purchases from the TCP, spinners and mills are in comfortable supply position at least until December this year and may not opt for large buying at this stage, keeping prices within their export parity levels”.

Spinners are expected to remain in the market just to keep their presence felt but may not opt for a bigger kill at this stage, he added. Reports reaching here about the standing crop in the major growing areas indicate that growth and flowering is normal but it is too early to say about the total production in view of fears of late pest attack.

But market sources said that the chances of pest attack were minimum, owing to extremely warm weather.

Official spot rates did not show any change after several lean sessions and were firmly held unchanged at Rs2,225 per maund.

Ready off-take was large totalling about 8,000 bales as under:

SINDH VARIETY: 1,400 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,210 to Rs2,225, 400 bales, Sultanbad at Rs2,190 to Rs2,200, 600 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,180 to Rs2,210, 1,000 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,150 to Rs2,200 and 1,000 bales from some other stations around this level.