KARACHI, July 11: Cotton prices maintained their upward drive on Friday as some of the deals were finalised as higher as Rs4,000 per maund, reflecting panic buying by the spinners and mills.

Floor brokers said there was no cogent reason behind the panic mill buying at this formative stage as some of the ginneries had resumed partial operation and crop was still in tender stage in the entire cotton belt and did not turn out more than 10,000 to 15,000 bales daily.

“The price war among the contenders has started too early,” said a broker, adding, “prices have risen by about Rs300 per maund during the last couple of sessions well above the international parity levels.”

It is too early to speculate something about the total crop at this stage as in the major growing areas it will attain the flowering stage during the next two months, ginners said.

They fear that by that time picking operations of phutti are resumed in the entire cotton belt spinners may have pushed prices well above the Rs4,000 per maund mark.

Market sources said a leading cartel of spinners, having enormous funds at its disposal is out to grab the entire floating stock partly to cover their forward foreign sales and partly to hold a comfortable stock position in case the crop is short like the previous season.

Meanwhile, reports reaching here from the central Punjab and Sindh cotton belts indicate that the picking operations are being maintained at a high pitch as growers want to cash in on the current higher rates, ranging from Rs1,650 to Rs1,800 per 40kg.

The market also derived in part a modest strength from the New York Cotton Exchange where future contracts rose well above the 70-cent per lb mark after having fallen to 66 cents a couple of sessions earlier.

There was, however, no change in the local official spot rates, which were again quoted unchanged at Rs3,650.

Mills ready off-take was on the higher side as till late in the evening, about 8,000 bales changed hands, all from the Punjab cotton belt.

The following are some of the notable deals: 400 bales, Khanewal at Rs4,000, 1,000, 200 each, and 400 each, Muridwala, Sahiwal, and Mian Channu, Arifwala and Chichawatni, respectively, at Rs3,950 per maund.