KARACHI, Aug 12: Active trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Tuesday as the post-strike session witnessed a flurry of buying orders by the spinners and the mills at the lower prices.

The interesting feature was that both the official spot rates and those at which bulk of the business in Sindh type was done in the ready section, were quoted at par at Rs4,100 per maund, what the brokers called a phenomenon.

But the lint from the Punjab is generally sold at a premium of Rs50 to Rs100 per maund over the lower Sindh stuff.

About 10,000 bales changed hands at the uniform rate of Rs4,100 maund for the Sindh type and between Rs4,125 to Rs4,200 for its Punjab counterpart but mill demand remained unsatisfied till the close, floor brokers said.

Some of the leading ginners held back their stocks of lint in an apparent effort to sell them at the higher levels after the current impasse caused by the strikes ends, they said.

Floor brokers said opinions are divided over the future price outlook as much will depend on the size of the crop and the damage caused by the pest attack, notably in the Punjab cotton belt.

But the current fall to Rs4,000 per maund that of phutti below Rs2,000 per 40 kg, reflects some basic changes in the growers’ strategy to keep prices of phutti well above the Rs2,000 per maund level owing to higher input costs, they said.

The current fall below the 70-cent mark at 66.72 and 68.74 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December contracts did have sympathetic negative impact on the local prices, being guided by reports of pest attack, some others said.

Official spot rates were revised upward by Rs50 at Rs4100 per maund, recouping a good part of the Monday’s fall of Rs100.

Mill ready off-take was on the higher side amounting to 10,000 bales, the following being some of the notable deals:

SINDH TYPE: 2,100 bales, Tando Adam at Rs4,090 to Rs4,125, 1,300 bales, Shahdadpur, 400 bales, Hala, 1,000 bales, Sanghar, 300 bales, Hyderabad, 100 bales, Tando Jan Muhammad and 200 bales, Sinjhoro at Rs4,100.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 700 bales, Bahawalnagar at Rs4,125 to Rs4,150, 400 bales, Burewala Rs4,150 to Rs4,200, 200 bales, Qabula and 400 bales, Pak Pattan at Rs4,150 and 200 bales, Arifwala at Rs4,200.