KARACHI, Sept 12: Trading activity on the cotton market on Monday was brisk as spinners and mills remained active buyers around the current levels fearing fresh increase in prices.

Official spot rates were again revised upward by Rs25 amid fears of pressure on supplies as picking operations in most of the areas may remained suspended by about a week if there is no fresh rain.

Some of the deals in the Punjab variety were done as higher Rs2,300 per maund, reflecting spinners concern about the price flare-up, brokers said.

The quality of the lint would also be affected if the phutti is picked up in the wet fields as it does in the ginneries where heaps of phutti were stocked in the open plinths, dealers said.

That is perhaps why ginners raised their asking prices in the ready section after the reports of fresh rain in the entire cotton belt followed by drying up of arrivals of phutti from the fields, they said.

Floor brokers said the current spell of late monsoon rain in the entire cotton belt has brightened the prospects of a good crop, which is still in the flowering stage in the major growing areas of upper Sindh and southern Punjab.

“The interesting feature is that heavy downpour washed away the major population of pests from the standing crop eliminating the chances of fresh attack or germination,” they said.

The rain also is beneficial for the growth of the plants at this time of the season leading to a healthy crop with normal per acre yield, they added.

Although conflicting reports are coming in about the size of the crop from various sources, the general perception is that the crop will be on the higher side as compared to the previous season.

Ready off-take was on the higher side as spinners and mills continued to add to the new crop to their inventories of the previous crop. About 8,000 bales, changed hands, following being notable among them:

SINDH VARIETY: 1,000 bales, Tando Adam at Rs2,150 to 2,160.00, 1,000 bales, Shahdapur at 2,150 to 2,170.00, and 400 bales, Jhole at 2,140.