KARACHI, Oct 31: Cotton prices on Friday maintained their upward drive as spinners and mills continued to build-up long positions at each rise amid briskly traded session.

Most of the deals including big-lots were finalised at an average rate of Rs3,200 per maund and floor brokers said the panic-buying by the mills could push prices to their pre-reaction level in the coming sessions.

“Owing to difficulties in opening letters of credit for import of the commodity due to pressure on forex, spinners and mills are not inclined to take risk on the supply front and are indulging in nervous buying hence consequent price flare-up,” they added.

New York cotton futures, notably the ruling December delivery at 45 cents per lb is cheaper but problems on the import front did not allow spinners to go for immediate imports, they said.

Floor brokers said spinners were also worried over the size of the crop followed by reports of damage to crop owing to late rain and pest attack in the Punjab cotton belt and were trying to cover their forward consumption needs even at the rising prices.

They said the supply and demand factors were now irrelevant as spinners were progressively forced to remain at the receiving-end in the coming weeks and to buy lint at the higher rates.

Ginners and growers had already received the seasonal jolt owing to massive electricity outages followed suspension of ginning operations, leading to steep decline in lint prices from Rs4,000 to Rs2,400 per maund and that of phutti from Rs2,000 to Rs1,200 per 40 kg.

“Prices of the both are now well on the road to recovery.”

Official spot rates were quoted further higher by Rs50 per maund but on the other hand New York cotton futures came in for active selling and were marked down by 1.79 and 1.70 cents at 45.09 and 49.18 cents per lb for the ruling December and the forward March contracts, respectively.

Mill ready off-take was on the higher side amounting to 25,000 bales, mostly in the Punjab variety, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 1,400 bales, Shahdadpur, 1,600 bales, Nawabshah at Rs3,150 to Rs3,200, 600 bales each and 1,000 bales, Mirpurkhas and Tando Adam and Sanghar at Rs3,150 to Rs3,175, 1,000 bales, Khairpur at Rs3,150.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,600 bales, Khanewal at Rs3,200 to Rs3,225, 1,000 bales, 2,000 bales each and 1,600 bales, Noorpur, Bahawalpur, Rajanpur and Hasilpur at Rs3,200, 400 bales each, 600, 800, Khanewal, Shudan Lund, Burewala, Chichawatni, Vehari, Shah Jamal, Jahania, Layyah, Arifwala and Uch Sharif also at Rs3,200, 600 bales, Dandot at Rs3,150 and 200 bales, Gaggon at Rs3,175.