KARACHI, June 19: Cotton market on Wednesday showed firm trend but mill buying remained well below the daily average turnover amid hopes of reversal in prices in sympathy with New York cotton futures.

Leading ginners are worried over the spinners buying strategy as they are inclined to go all out to grab the floating stock, fearing a price flare-up. Selective support from them is keeping prices within their parity levels, dealers said.

They said ginners were also worried over the new development, that was the phenomenon of mill-to-mill buying as leading spinners, who held surplus stocks beyond their annual consumption requirements were selling at much higher rates (Rs1,900 per maund) to other spinners.

The general perception is that the future price outlook will be set by the international tender floated by the TCP for 45,000 bales of fine quality against which bids will be opened on June 27.

Till then spinners and exporters will just mark time to keep prices within the current range depending on quality premiums of the lint in trade.

But some brokers predict prices could rise from the current levels as the new crop from the lower Sindh ginneries may be a bit late owing to delayed sowing in the backdrop of irrigation water problems.

The correct position of stocks in hand and their impact on the price line will be known by the first week as by that time the picking of the new crop is expected to resume in the lower Sindh cotton belt, they added.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the Sindh and the Punjab cotton belts indicate that the growth of the new crop is satisfactory and is no serious incidence of pest attack in any of the areas owing perhaps to extremely hot weather.

But market sources said on Tuesday rain in some areas of the central Punjab cotton belt was timely and would accelerate the pace of its growth. There are no reports of any damage to the standing crop because of heavy rain and duststorm.

The total foreign sales swell to 0.186m bales after the addition of another 1,741 bales sold by the private sector exporters to Bangladesh and some other countries on June 18, official figures say.

Official spot rates consolidated previous gains and were held unchanged at Rs1,750 per maund, but New York cotton futures suffered fresh decline ranging between 0.28 and 0.33 cents per lb for both the ruling July and distant October settlements at 39.38 and 41.90 cents per lb, respectively.

Ready offtake was light totalling about 4,000 bales as under: 431 bales of Sinjoro at Rs1,630; 2,000 bales, Bahawalpur mill-to-mill at Rs1,900; 400 bales, Sumundari also at Rs1,900; 200 bales, Tandilawala at Rs1,580; 200 bales, Kheror Pacca at Rs1,640; and 450 bales of Kabirwala also at Rs1,640.