KARACHI, Aug 7: Physical business on the cotton market failed to pick up as spinners were not inclined to make fresh commitments partly because of higher asking prices and partly to delivery problems.

Floor brokers said fresh rain in the Sindh cotton belt followed by reports of damage to standing crop in some of the areas again affected the local trading amid low ready off-take.

Excessive rain water does damage the standing crop if it is not absorbed by the soil within a couple of days but rainfall varies from area to area and in most of the cases it is absorbed well in time, ginners said.

Standing crop in some of the central Sindh cotton belt may have been damaged but it is too early to put it into figures, they added.

“As the picking operations of phutti remained suspended and falling arrivals in those areas where rain did not affect ginning operations, ginners are quoting higher prices well above the export parity rates of spinners,” they said.

Reports arriving here from the central Punjab cotton belt, where over a dozen ginneries are operating, normally indicate that ready off-take by mills is steady and there are many buyers around Rs2,600 per maund plus.

The ready business may remain light until the current rain spell ends and all the sectors of cotton trade resume normal activity, they added.

Some of the spinners and mills need immediate supplies are, however, worried over the ready supply position and are said to be willing to pay more for prompt supplies, ginners said.

Official spot rates were, therefore, held unchanged at the weekend levels in the absence of feedback from the ready section.

In the ready section, stray lots totalling about 800 bales changed hands around Rs2,575 and 2,600 but spinners are reluctant to go beyond this levels.