KARACHI, Feb 7: Physical activity on the cotton market on Friday remained at a standstill as sellers and buyers kept to the sidelines followed by reports that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan has resumed its fine lint procurement operations.

There was a virtual scare among the spinners and mills amid fears that the TCP’s higher prices could have sympathetic impact on the other types of lint also, which had already touched the high mark of Rs2,400 per maund during the last couple of sessions.

“The TCP entry in the cotton market may be good for the entire cotton trade including the tillers but the timing is wrong”, one spinner complained adding “it should have deferred its operations for another month and so that textile industry has covered its 80 per cent of the annual demand”.

The purchase price announced by the TCP for the contamination-free lint with a staple length of 1-1/32 inches from the registered model ginning factories in upper Sindh and southern Punjab cotton belt is Rs2,459 per 40 kg.

A leading cotton broker has confirmed that the TCP has already bought 200 and 100 bales each from the two ginneries at the fixed rate, which will be valid up to Feb 10 and the post-eid holiday buying rate will be announced later.

The TCP is expected to revise the rates in line with the international parity levels and there is a possibility that it may make forward sales to foreign buyers to avert an unforeseen losses.

At the same time, the TCP stocks could also be used as a buffer stock in case the crop is short and spinners need additional supplies, market sources said.

According to TCP sources it has resumed procurement operations under the official directive apparently in a bid to encourage growers to increase cotton acreage during the next season, which will start from May 15.

On the export front, private sector exporters have sold another 8,230 bales to Bangladesh, Philippines, China and Indonesian importers, pushing the total foreign sales so far to 0.110m bales.

Official spot rates were held unchanged at the overnight level of Rs2,250 but New York cotton futures were marked further down by 0.15 and 0.16 cents at 51.70 and 55.74 cents per lb for both the ruling March and the distant May settlements.

Ready offtake was light as till late in the evening only 200 bales, Chundko changed hands at Rs2,225 per maund.