KARACHI, Dec 26: Trading on the cotton market on Wednesday resumed on a dull note as spinners kept to the sidelines because of year-end considerations.

Floor brokers said both the ginners and spinners remained busy in taking stock of their inventories because to year-end closing and stayed on the sidelines.

Stray lots, however, did change hands as needy spinners remained active buyers at the prevailing prices but leading among them for most part of the session.

Floor brokers said the next couple of sessions preceding Dec 31, 2001 may remain dull as spinners are not expected to resume new year buying before the first week of January.

But leading ginners are worried over the developing situation as they are expected to start the new year with a big unsold stocks, which could work both of the current price line, they added.

Already prices have dropped below the Rs2,000 mark as ginners were out to clear their backlog even at the falling prices but as there was no matching buying offers prices kept declining.

Some cotton analysts claim the centre of activity in cotton trade has been shifted to Punjab where bulk of the unsold stock is lying and most of the deals are finalized direct between the ginners and spinners.

“As the details of the deals in trade are not immediately available to the local brokers for obvious reasons the quantum of daily ready transactions is shrinking”, they added.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the upper Sindh and southern Punjab cotton belt indicate that arrivals of phutti into the ginneries are falling each day as leading growers are not inclined to hold on to their positions for quality reasons.

However, the market is awaiting the arrivals figures for the fortnight ending Dec 31, which are expected to set the market future price trend.

Official spot rates did not show any change and were held at the weekend levels.

Ready offtake was light as till late in the evening about 2,500 bales from the southern Punjab ginneries changed hands.