Sustained demand for quality lint pushed prices higher on the cotton market yesterday.
Spinners and some exporters kept looking for quality lint, but short supply and unwillingness on the part of ginners to sell led to a surge in prices beyond the Rs.5,000 mark.
Floor brokers said that slow arrivals of phutti (seed cotton) because of heavy fog in the Punjab also generated some buying from needy millers. Consequently, the market remained fairly steady.
Phutti prices rose by Rs100 due to short supply. Market reports suggest that cotton production this season would easily touch 15 million bales.
As for world markets, New York cotton came under pressure ahead of long Christmas and New Year closure.
The Karachi Cotton Association’s (KCA) left its spot rates unchanged.