KARACHI, March 3: The cotton market on Thursday consolidated the overnight gains but ready off take failed to pick up as both ginners and spinners are awaiting the arrival figures of phutti for the fortnight ended Feb 28.

There were strong mid-session rumours that the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), an apex body of cotton traders, has already sent the report from its Multan head office to its Karachi office, but till late in the evening both the leading brokerage houses and some end-product users failed to find any cue to total, brokers said. But rumours circulating in the trading counters show that the figure is far below the general perceptions and could trigger fresh speculative mill buying, the said.

The rise to Rs2,325 per maund during the last two sessions is reflective of the fact that both the ginners and spinners have a fair idea of total, which will be close to the final figure and are basing their future buying in line with these perceptions of supply and demand, market sources said.

A steep decline in the daily mill off take and ginners reluctance to go in a big way at around Rs2,300 per maund signal that the spinners would try to forestall any further increase in prices beyond their export parity levels.

"After having already made forward deals for about a million bales from various foreign sources, the spinners and mill may opt for more imports to check any speculative rise in the local prices in the backdrop of latest arrival figures," most leading spinners threaten.

Meanwhile, reports originating from the spinner sector reveal that a maiden consignment of imported lint is due to arrive here by the end of the current month. However, the quantity will be modest and may not in any way influence the local price line.

It was in this background that official spot rates were firmly held at the last level of Rs2,492 per maund in the absence of falling ready business. New York cotton futures, on the other hand, shed another 0.43 and 0.40 cents per lb at 49.12 and 50.19 cents per lb for both the ruling March and the distant May contracts, respectively.

Barring, a deal of 2,000 bales from the upper Sindh ginneries at Rs2,300 to Rs2,350, leading brokers did not report any other deal owing to higher asking prices by the ginners. But some unconfirmed reports say that about 5,000 bales, both inferior and fine types, changed hands mostly in the southern Punjab cotton belt.