KARACHI, Feb 22: Physical activity on the cotton market on Wednesday picked up modestly as spinners lifted all the lots offered below Rs2,600 per maund.

While fine lots were sold between Rs2,550 to Rs2,575 per maund, some of the ginners offered inferior lots below Rs2,500, which were readily purchased by some of the spinners producing low counts of cotton yarn, brokers said.

Well over 10,000 bales changed hands at rates between Rs2,450 to Rs2,575 per maund reflecting the price variations depending on the quality but spinners and mills were active buyers around these levels, they said.

Ready business is expected to further pick up during the next couple of sessions as spinners and mills may increase their daily intake as the current levels are said to be in line with their export parity levels for textiles, some other said.

“We have to keep a judicious balance between supply and demand with a view to keep prices within the current levels,” says a leading spinner “a short crop could mean anything.”

But some other said the future price outlook will essentially guided by the holding capacity of those ginners who still hold on to their stocks until the new crop from the lower Sindh ginneries arrive by late June or early July.

And during the intervening period there could some tactical changes in line with supply and demand factors as well as reports from the New York Cotton Exchange, ginners said.

But failure of the New York cotton futures to touch their chart point of 60 cents per lb for the last about two months despite hectic speculative activity signals that local prices may remain stable around the current levels.

As a result, official spot rates were again held unchanged at Rs2,550 per maund, while in the ready section some of the deals were done above them.

New York cotton futures fell by 0.75 and 0.95 cents at 56.68 and 56.39 cents per lb for both the maturing March and the forward May contracts respectively.

Ready off-take was active rising to 10,000 bales as under: 3,000 bales, upper Sindh at Rs2,500 to Rs2,575, 1,226 bales, Rohri at Rs2,460, 1,200 bales, Tharo Shah at Rs2,500, 2,000 bales, Rahimyar Khan at Rs2,550 to Rs2,575 and 2,600 bales, Haroonabad at Rs2,475.