KARACHI, Aug 2: Cotton market on Saturday maintained a firm trend as fall in arrivals of phutti into the ginneries owing to recent rain in the cotton belt and a temporary suspension in picking operations.As a result, physical business remained relatively slow although most of the deals were finalised around the overnight levels on quality basis.

Spinners are, however, worried over the strike threat by the ginners after their meeting in Multan on Friday if their unspecified demands, including increase in conversion charges, copy of which had already been sent to the relevant ministry, are not met, said a leading floor broker.

Market sources said some of the ginning factories in the Punjab cotton belt have already suspended operations in the absence of fresh arrivals of phutti, while some others, who have modest un-ginned stocks of phutti, are said to be continuing their operations.

The spinners and mills appear to be a bit happy over fresh limit-fall in the New York cotton futures by 2.34 and 2.61 cents per lb at 69.31 and 71.89 cents for both the ruling October and the forward December settlements, respectively, they added.

“The import of lint is now competitive and any further fall will make it more attractive,” said a spinner, adding: “The crop may be short and many among us will opt for fresh LCs below the 70-cent benchmark”.

According to official sources, spinners and mills had already imported about 0.140 million bales in June in an apparent effort to make up for local crop shortfall, if any.

Phutti rates both in Sindh and the central Punjab cotton belts are quoted between Rs1,950 to Rs2,100 per 40 kg, almost double the official support price.

Official spot rates were further revised upward by Rs50 to Rs4,150 per maund but in the ready section most of the deals were done well above them.

The following are some of the deals, which were gone through late on Saturday evening; 400 bales Shahdadpur, 300 bales, Sanghar and 200 bales, Gojra at Rs4,200, 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs4,150, 200 bales of some other stations at Rs4,190.

A private sector exporter also sold 200 bales to a mill at Rs4,250, for delivery at Karachi.