KARACHI, Dec 5: Trading on the cotton market on Wednesday picked up as spinners covered their forward positions against foreign sales amid predictions of price flare-up aided by a short crop.

Official spot rates were revised upward by Rs25 per maund amid building up pressure on future supplies of the local lint, but there were buyers at the higher rates also, floor brokers said.

“It appears to be a belated reaction to sharp decline of 1.7m bales in the phutti arrivals during the last fortnight,” they said, adding “it could be pretty difficult to contain prices within the current range toward the end of the season”.But spinners and mills hoped any speculative price flare-up could be checked through a long import bill as no one among them was inclined to go beyond their export parity levels in a highly competitive world textile market.

However, the higher daily mill intake reflects that spinners are well aware of the developing situation on the supply and demand fronts and grabbing the floating stocks around or below Rs3,200 per maund.

“The crop is not short of the revised target but well below of it,” spinners said, adding “we are operating having a fair idea of the total crop and its likely impact on the future price outlook”.

Market sources said in an uncertain future price outlook ginners are also not inclined to take financial risks after holding long unsold positions for an indefinite period as was reflected by larger ready mill off-take.

Although official spot rates were upped by Rs25 per maund most of the deals in the ready section were done well above them.

New York cotton futures stayed firm as the maturing December and the ruling March contracts were quoted fractionally higher by 0.11 and 0.05 cents per lb at 58.38 and 63.50 cents respectively.

Mill ready off-take was on the higher side totalling about 25,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 1,000 bales, Dadu at Rs3,125 and 400 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs3,100.