KARACHI, April 27: Active trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Thursday as spinners resumed their covering purchases against forward sales of yarn and cloth.

As a result, after several lean sessions big-lot business was reported owing to the strong presence of leading spinners groups but bulk of the business was finalised between Rs2,450 and Rs2,475 depending on the quality of lint in trade, brokers said.

“The absence of fresh news about the next TCP tender for cotton sales seems to be a chief force behind the spinner return to the ready market,” they said, adding: “The pent-up demand was adequately met by active ginner selling.”

Ginners are happy over the silence from the TCP on the issue as it has forced the mills and spinners to resume local buying of lint at competitive rates in line with international prices, market sources said.

They said some of the leading ginners who held bulk of the unsold stock were keen to unload their long positions around the current levels before the arrival of new crop, as there was now a remote possibility of further increase in prices.

Meanwhile, reports from central and upper Sindh and southern Punjab cotton belts indicate that some of the farmers have already resumed sowing of new crop before the official date of May 15 to June 15, owing to availability of irrigation water, they said.

There was no change in the official spot rates, which were held unchanged at Rs2,452 but most of the fine lots were sold well above them.

New York cotton futures on the other hand recovered from the recent lows and were quoted higher by 0.50 and 0.33 cents per lb at 50 and 51.47 cents for both the ruling May and distant July contracts, respectively.

Ready offtake was brisk totalling about 15,000 bales, following being some of the notable deals: 5,000 bales, Lodhran at Rs2,450 to Rs2,475; 3,000 bales, Sadiqabad at Rs2,440 to Rs2,465; 2,943 bales, Rahimyar Khan at Rs2,450 to Rs2,475; and 800 bales, Daur at Rs2,250.