With ginners asking higher prices for quality lint amid firm demand from millers, trading activity on Wednesday cotton market failed to gain momentum.

Brokers said that prices remained on the higher side due to tight phutti supply and strong demand for lint from spinners. They added that presently phutti stocked by growers is finding its way to ginneries, otherwise, very little has been left behind in the cotton fields.

Floor brokers said that phutti (seed cotton) arrivals into the ginneries slowed down considerably at the fag-end of the current season also pushing cotton prices upwards.

With strong indications that textile exports would gain momentum due to free-market access given by the European Union, and Pakistani exhibitors’ participation in Heimtextil fair in Frankfurt getting good response from buyers, demand for quality lint seems to rise further.

The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) left its spot rates unchanged and trading activity on ready counter was slow and restricted.

The following deals changed hands on ready counter on Wednesday: 200 bales from station Dharanwala at Rs7,000, 400 bales from Fort Abbas at Rs7,000, 200 bales from Haroonabad at Rs7,000, 200 bales from Vehari at Rs7,100, 200 bales from Shujabad at Rs7,150 and 1,862 bales from Sadiqabad at Rs7,175.

On the global front cotton markets generally remained firm, particularly India where higher demand from local industry and exports is keeping prices on the higher side.

The New York cotton market also moved higher while China is yet to enter world market as it still continues to release cotton to millers from its last year’s stocks.