KARACHI: Trading remained selective on grade issue lint while buyers made deals for second grade stuff on premium prices during trading at the lint market, floor brokers said. Forward deals also changed hands for consolidating inventories by leading buyers in Sindh and Punjab stations during the trading session, they added. Buyers made deals on a slightly higher price on shrinking better grades of lint that also kept general prices in the green zone. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rate remained intact at Rs 6,650 per maund. Floor brokers said buyers also made deals for all grades as well as deals for fine and second grade lint for blending purposes which changed hands at around Rs6,550 per maund to Rs6,725 per maund during the trading session. A senior trader, Ghulam Rabbani, said mills and spinners in order to strengthen their long positions, bought second grade of lint bypaying premium prices for it. The shrinking fine lint put the general price in the firm zone and buyers also made forward deals on a slightly higher price at around Rs6,750 per maund in Sindh and Punjab stations. The private exporters bought better grades of lint from buffer old stocks of lint. The buyers remained selective on grade issue and consolidated their future positions with fresh fine lots also, he added. According to KCA, 200 bales of Mirpurkhas changed hands at Rs6,350 per maund, 200 bales of Hyderabad at Rs6,375 per maund, 200 bales of upper Sindh at Rs6,525 per maund and 200 bales of southern Punjab at Rs6,675 per maund. In the domestic market, buyers remained eager for quality lint on the back of growing demand for end products. The ginners of Punjab offered cotton of all grades to the buyers around Rs5,975 per maund to Rs6,750 per maund while ginners of Sindh offered raw grade of lint to the buyers around Rs5,975 per maund depending on trash level. New York Cotton March 2017 Future closed at 75 cents per pound, May 2017 at 75.60 cents per pound and Cotlook A was hovering at 82 cents per pound.