KARACHI, July 4 Cotton market closed the weekend session on a firm note as spinners and mills remained active buyers of the new crop at the rising prices owing to better quality, floor brokers said.

“Both the current and the new crop are now selling at par, but indications are that the latter would be sold at a premium during the next couple of sessions as supplies are far behind the local demand,” they added.

They said as growers have further raised their asking prices of phutti to Rs1,800 and 1,850 per 40kgs, both in the Sindh and the Punjab types, the increase would be passed onto the lint in due course.

Owing to higher cost of inputs, notably fertiliser and pesticides, growers have decided to sell phutti at a fair profit margin rather than dumping it and to play in the hands of ginners, they added.

A leading cotton analyst Naseem Usman said some progressive growers are worried over the fresh tender floated by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan for the sale of 25,000 bales of lint of various staple lengths, which could affect the prevailing price line on the open market.

They said that the TCP should have further delayed the tender at least by the time when all ginneries have resumed normal new crop operations during the season.

Meanwhile, growth of the new crop in the entire cotton belt was said to be normal and the current spell of rain in most of the areas is expected to be beneficial at this stage.

There was no change in the

official spot rates for the current crop which were firmly held unchanged at the overnight level of Rs3,350 per maund.

The following are some of the new crop deals reported by the city brokers 400 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs3,350; 200 bales, Sahiwal at Rs3,350 and 200 at Rs3,335, 200 bales, each Burewala and Haroonabad at Rs3,335.