KARACHI, Dec 29: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on a bullish note as spinners and mills again indulged in panic buying followed by reports of strong presence of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) as a second buyer.

As a result official spot rates were quoted further higher by Rs125 maund but in physical trading some of the fine lots were traded as higher as Rs3,200 per maund well above the TCP’s official procurement rate of Rs3,205 per 40 kg.

The notable feature of the day was that there was a galore of big-lot business as leading spinner groups tried to the grab the floating stock amid reports of a short crop, dealers said.

They said although the TCP was not a buyer even of fine lots above their mandated rate, spinners and mills, which have secured export outlets, seem to be heading toward setting a new price level for the second time during the current season.

Early in the current season, lint prices had touched the high mark of Rs4,200 per maund, while an average selling price was maintained around Rs4,000 for many weeks, before the gradual downward drift was noted, they added.

Cotton analysts said it was pretty good to ensure a fair price for the growers most of whom had already left the arena after having sold their stocks at an average rate of Rs1,600 per maund, the lowest and the highest during the season was recorded at Rs1,200 and 2,200.

An imminent price flare-up at the end of the season based on market talk of a short crop could have negative impact on the export front during the second half of the current fiscal year, they said adding: “The TCP should slow down its operations to keep lint prices within the international parity levels.

It was in this background the official spot rates were revised sharply higher by Rs125 per maund at Rs3,100. But in the ready section most of the deals were done well above them,

Mill ready off-take was on the higher side as till late in the evening over 30,000 bales changed hands, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 3,000 bales, upper Sindh at Rs3,100, 1,200 bales, Shahdadpur, 400 bales, Hala and 200 bales, Hyderabad at Rs3,050

PUNJAB VARIETY: 2,000 bales, each Chingoth, and Hajipur at Rs3,200, 4,800 bales, Fazilpur at Rs2,985 to 3,200, 1,000 bales, Rahimyar Khan, 3,600 bales, Khanpur at Rs3,100 to 3,200, 1,000 bales, Liaquatpur at Rs3,150, 3,500 bales, Rajanpur at Rs3,075 to 3,200, 5,000 bales, Nurpur, 1,000 bales, Ahmedpur East, 800 bales, Muhammad Pur Dewan, at Rs3,100, 600 bales, Jampur and 200 bales, Jhang at Rs2,890 and 2,850, respectively.