KARACHI, June 6: Cotton market on Thursday extended the previous firmness followed by strong mill demand but ginners appear to be reluctant sellers entertaining higher price ideas.

Physical business, therefore, remained at a low ebb as ginners have raised their asking prices keeping in view the supply and demand factors, dealers said.

The interesting feature was that private sector exporters were active buyers between Rs1,300 and Rs1,450 per maund against their forward sales.

“The lower than spinner perceptions unsold stocks with the ginners seem to have altogether changed the future cotton outlook”, says a leading broker adding “a price flare-up may be imminent in the coming weeks”.

Although spinners have built-up long positions after having imported over a million bales at much lower rates when the New York cotton futures were moving within the range of 30 to 33 cents per lb, they still need fine lots for blending purposes to produce higher counts of cotton yarn and blended fabrics for the export markets.

It was because of this perception that ginners have become a bit choosy and are holding on to their positions rather than selling at the current levels.

According to ginners the model ginning factories in Gothki and Rahimyar Khan districts still hold substantial unsold stocks of contamination-free lint and spinners are eyeing them in the absence of strong buying by the TCP.

Both the districts claimed to have produced about 1.4m bales during the season, a part of which has already been purchased by the TCP and a leading group of spinners, which generally indulge in big-lot business.

But some leading brokers say some of the ginners have already sold their stocks at much lower rates in a falling market and may not benefit from any possible price flare-up.

It was perhaps in this background that official spot rates were revised upward by Rs25 per maund for the second session in a row, reflecting that the market has bailed itself out from a long recessionary period.

Ready offtake was modest as till late in the evening another 5,000 bales changed hands as under: 400 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs1,300, 800 bales, Shahdadpur and 1,000 bales, Khipro at Rs1,450, purchased by exporters, 400 bales, Burewala at Rs1,565, 900 bales, Yazman at Rs1,625 and 400 bales, Samundri at Rs1,650.