KARACHI, Oct 7: Physical business on the cotton market remained on the higher side as mills and spinners were not inclined to take even a technical breather and lifted all the lots offered by the ginners.

Despite the fact that possibility of resumption of procurement operations by the TCP appears remote, spinners and mills are not inclined to sit on the sidelines and are out to corner any amount of fine lint as they could, brokers said adding that is perhaps why prices are stable around the previous levels.

Due to market talk of a short crop in the Punjab cotton belt owing to floods and untimely rain, cotton users are thinking they will remain the single buyers until the total size of the crop is not clear, they said.

Spinners are playing safe in an apparent bid not to allow prices to rise from the current levels and are active buyers for any quantity below Rs2,300 per maund, they said.

In the presence of the TCP on the market as a second buyer to ensure a fair price to the grower and the textile sector, the local market is at the mercy of mills and spinners, some others said.

Leading private exporters are also conspicuous by their absence from the market as they have purchased a few thousand bales of lint from the current crop because of unsettled conditions on the foreign trading centres and importers reluctance to open fresh LCs hoping a decline in world prices, they said.

“Because of highly erratic behaviour of New York cotton futures, it is a bit risky to opt for foreign stuff at this stage”, spinners said adding “moreover, US lint above 50 cents per lb is bit expensive and does not fall into their export parity levels”.

That was perhaps why their daily intake of the local stuff is much higher than a month earlier but most of the leading groups were working on the pattern of a cartel to keep prices competitive.

The local prices should have risen sharply higher from the current level after reports of a short crop but spinners contained them after regulating their daily intake and not showing any panic among them.

Ready off-take was active totalling about 7,500 bales from both Sindh and Punjab cotton belt. New York cotton futures also ruled firm around the previous levels.

About 3,000 bales of Sindh variety changed hands between Rs2,250 to Rs2,300 per maund, while that from Punjab ginneries between Rs2,275 to Rs2,300 depending on quality.