KARACHI, Aug 28: Cotton market on Tuesday maintained a firm trend amid brisk trading as spinners and mills remained active buyers at the current levels.

About 15,000 bales both from the Sindh and the Punjab cotton belts changed hands between Rs2,975 to Rs3,125 per maund depending on the quality of lint.

“The condition of the crop in the entire cotton belt is fairly satisfactory and production target is expected to be exceeded with slight margin,” cotton consultant Naseem Usman said.

The important factor that contributes to a healthy crop is the recent rain which has washed away the mealybug from the standing crop to a large extent, he said.

Another analyst M. Adil said the market was expected to maintain steady trend around the current levels despite highly erratic movements of the New York cotton futures and ruled out the possibility of fresh decline in prices in sympathy with international markets.

However, arrivals of phutti are expected to pick up during the next couple of sessions as picking operations are due to be resumed by Saturday.

But as the mill demand will remain on the higher side in the coming weeks also, larger arrivals may not affect the current price line, some others said, adding “spinners have to go a long way to cover their forward positions both through local and foreign sources”.

Official spot rates were again firmly held around the overnight level of Rs2,925 but in the ready section most of the deals were done well above them.

The following were some of the notable deals done on Tuesday evening.

SINDH TYPE: 2,000 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,975 to Rs3,000, 600 bales, Khipro, 1,000 bales, Sanghar and 600 bales, Hyderabad at Rs2,950 to Rs2,975.