KARACHI, Aug 28: Cotton prices on Thursday eased further as a section of lower Sindh ginners continued to liquidate long positions after reports of steady arrivals of phutti into the ginneries.

“Growers who were holding on to their positions anticipating further rise in prices of phutti virtually flooded the ginneries during the last couple of sessions”, says a ginner “fearing an identical decline in lint prices most of the ginners decided to clear their unsold positions”.

There appears to be a near-confusion in the ready market as lint prices fluctuated widely touching one stage the day’s lowest rate of Rs2,450, brokers said adding everyone was seller but there was no matching buying from the spinners and the mills.

“An idea of panic may well be had from the fact that prices fluctuated by Rs150 per maund, the highest and lower rates being Rs2,600 and Rs2,450 respectively depending on the quality of lint”, dealers said.

They said spinners and mills extended guarded support to some quality lots ensuring there is no fresh increase in lint prices after reports of fresh rise of phutti arrivals into the ginneries.

Unlike the Sindh ginners, their counterparts in the central Punjab cotton belt held on to their unsold positions rather than opting for nervous selling at the lower level, they said. As a result, till late in the evening no reports of physical business reach here.

Market sources predicted further fall both in lint and phutti prices as both the growers and the ginners are not willing to hold on to their positions owing to future uncertainties involved in cotton trade.

The panic with which ginners reacted to larger arrivals of phutti indicates that fresh fall in prices is imminent. Spinners are watching the developing situation, which favours them from the sidelines.

Official spot rates were, therefore, lowered by only Rs10 but in the ready section most of the deals were done well below them.

New York cotton futures on the other hand resisted fresh decline and ended recovered by 0.13 and 0.19 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the distant December settlements at 56.13 and 57.67 cents per lb respectively.

Ready business was active at the lower level and totalled about 4,000 bales all from the Sindh ginneries as under: 600 bales, Sultanabad at Rs2,515 200 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,450, 600 bales, at Rs2,520, 200 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,590, 200 bales, at Rs2,575, 200 bales at Rs2,600, 200 bales, at Rs2,560, 200 bales, Khipro at Rs2,540, 200 bales at Rs2,535, 200 bales, Sanghar at Rs2,575 and 200 bales, Tando Adam at Rs2,570.