KARACHI, Dec 28: Cotton market maintained a firm price outlook on Wednesday as mills demand remained fairly active around the overnight levels and lifted all the lots offered for sales by the ginners.

But unlike the previous sessions, prices remained stable around the previous levels as stakeholders were awaiting the outcome of Islamabad meeting, which was to fix consensus support price at which the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), will purchase lint from the ginners, dealers said.

The persistent price hike witnessed over the last couple of sessions was halted as most of the deals in the ready section were done around the overnight rates, the highest being Rs5,500 per maund, they said.

However, late in the evening, prices showed higher trend as leading spinners and mills offered higher prices for some big lots from the southern Punjab cotton belt, they added.

Floor brokers said the future price trend will be set after the TCP resumes its procurement operations and grade-wise prices offered by it and how the ginners react to it.

But one thing appears certain that ginners may remain in co-operative mood as most of them have purchased phutti at much lower rates as growers virtually dumped their stocks at the lower prices below Rs2,000 per maund, they said.

And the other factor, which will set the future price outlook in the ready section for both the TCP and the spinners will be the conditions prevailing on the world textile markets, they added.

Official spot rates were quoted at Rs5,400 per maund but most of the deals in the ready section were quality-based.

The following are some of the notable deals reported by the Karachi Brokers Forum on Wednesday;

SINDH TYPE: 2,000 bales, upper Sindh at Rs5,200 to 5,300.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 400 bales, Garma Rajah at Rs5,100, 600 bales, Arifwala at 5,100 to 5,200, 600 bales, Hasilpur and 200 bales, Sahiwal at 5,200, 1,200 bales, Khanewal at 5,200 to 5,400, 2,000 bales, Rajanpur at 5,300 to 5,400, 1,000 bales each, Alipur and Kabirwala at 5,400, 400 bales, each Shah Jamal and Basti Malook, and 2,000 bales, Liaquatpur at 5,450, 1,400 bales, Mianwali at 5,475 to 5,500, 400 bales, each Shadan Lund and and Rahimyar Khan at 5,500.