KARACHI, July 27: The cotton market on Wednesday resisted fresh decline but physical business remained at low ebb as spinners kept to the sidelines apparently awaiting the arrivals of new crop. Unconfirmed reports of late pest attack in the lower Sindh cotton belt did worry spinners and mills but there was no immediate positive impact on the prevailing prices, ginners said.

But some others said the lower Sindh crop, which was currently at picking stage, might not be badly affected by the pest attack at the boll stage, as most of them were matured owing to extremely warm weather which also killed insects. According to market sources, a couple of ginning factories in the lower Sindh cotton belt had resumed new crop operations as arrivals of phutti were claimed to be rising steadily.

Although some of the spinners have made forward deals in the new crop at around Rs2,400 and Rs2,450 per maund, prices may fall from the current higher levels as the TCP is still in the market and has to unload another 0.2m bales to cut the proposed buffer stock to around 0.3m bales, they said.

The arrivals of new crop from Sindh ginneries may remain modest during the next two months, and by September the Punjab ginners will join them, signalling a significant improvement in supplies, some others said.

“Monday’s TCP auction has demonstrated in more than one ways that the spinners and mills may have covered their forward positions against foreign sales of cotton yarn and cloth and now they have assumed the role of casual buyers rather than actives ones,” brokers said.

Leading among them may have purchased lint more than they actually required for the current season apparently in an effort for inter-mill dealings or to sell to their weaker links during the next two months, they added.

As a result, official spot rates were firmly held at the last close amid dull trading, but a couple of lots of new crop reportedly changed for delivery next month. New York cotton futures on the other hand rose by 0.30 and 0.09 cents per lb at 50.50 and 51.89 cents for both the ruling October and forward December contracts, respectively.