KARACHI, June 14: Cotton market on Tuesday stayed firm as positive fallout of the TCP weekly auctions of lint at higher rates have a sympathetic impact on the local prices.

Floor brokers said ginners may not have larger unsold stocks with them but are holding on to those who are in their godowns and selling them at their asking prices.

A sizable decline in the daily business was partly owing to falling unsold stocks with the ginners and partly to their resolve to sell them at a higher price at the fag-end of the season, they said.

The fresh deals being signed between them and the spinners at Rs2,400 or slightly above for fine lots reflects their holding capacity is paying them off adequately, they said.

But spinners and mills appear to be after each lot being offered by the TCP in its weekly auctions as they have so far purchased 0.350m bales. The next Friday’s (June 17) tender for 60,000 bales will push its sales above half a million bales and spinner tally could touch the high mark of 0.4m bales, market sources said.

They said although foreign response to TCP sales was not that encouraging owing to steep decline in New York cotton futures and perceptions of cheaper lint elsewhere and they have purchased so far during the last two months only 60,000 bales active support extended by the textile sector even at the higher rates has a positive impact on the sale drive.

According to market sources spinners and mills are expected to 0.7m bales during the current TCP sale drive before it discontinues current operation and the unsold balance will remain in the TCP godown as a buffer stock to meet any crop shortfall in the next season.

There was no change in the official spot rates, which were quoted around the previous level of Rs2,225 per maund. On the other hand New York cotton futures recovered from the recent lows and were quoted higher by 0.57 and 0.87 cents per lb at 47.53 and 50.47 cents for both the matured July and the new crop October settlement respectively.

Ready off-take was modest and was confined to inter-mill and inter-exporter deals, while ginners were conspicuous by their absence. The following are the details of some of the deals: 1,000 bales, Karachi delivery at Rs2,150 to Rs2,400 exporter-to-mill, 1,000 bales, mill-to-mill, at Rs2,425 and an odd lot of 166 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,000.