KARACHI, July 7: Cotton prices on Saturday maintained their upward drive as spinners and mills haunted by reports of a short supply continued to make panic buying. “Each session the price flare-up is intensified owing to battle of wits between the leading spinners and their weaker links,” said a broker, adding “financially sound mills having decades’ old secured export outlets are the leading buyers irrespective of the asking prices”.

The forward deals in the new crop both from Sindh and the Punjab cotton belt around Rs3,000 per maund for low-mic lint has given a clear idea of future market outlook, he said.

He said the price of fine lots from the southern Punjab and upper Sindh ginneries is expected to be much higher when it arrives in the market sometime early September.

The interesting feature is that spinners are not inclined to purchase current crop and are out to make forward deals for the new crop. According to market sources ginners still hold an unsold stock of the current crop totalling about 30,000 bales.

“The cotton economy is certainly heading for a crisis-like situation in the current season both on supply and price accounts creating some new problems in addition to expensive exports for the textile industry,” said a leading spinner.

He said no exact estimates were known officially about the damage caused to the new crop in the central Sindh cotton belt due to rain and the flash floods.

It was in this background that official spot rates were again revised upward by Rs50 per maund at Rs2,725.

New York cotton futures were also quoted higher by 0.73 and 0.74 cents per lb at 62.73 and 64.63 cents for both the ruling October and the distant December contracts respectively.

The following forward deals in new crop were done for delivery in the first week of August: 600 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,800, 100 bales, Sahiwal at Rs2,950, 600 bales at Rs3,000 and 200 bales, Burewala also at Rs3,000. An odd lot of 937 bales of the current crop, D.G. Khan was sold at Rs2,825.