KARACHI, Feb 28: Trading activity on the cotton market on Tuesday was light as ginners were not inclined to sell at the falling prices and were anticipating an increase after the fortnightly arrival figures were released by the official sources.

Floor brokers said that the downward revision of Rs25 per maund in the average quality of lint by the official rate committee seemed to have worried ginners as it was not strictly related to supply and demand factors.

In the absence of feedback from the ready market where the daily mill intake remains terribly slow, it is not immediately clear what are the basis of downward revision, some ginners said.

“What would its fallout on the ready rate after the trading resumes on Wednesday is not clear but some cotton analysts said it may have adverse impact on asking prices of ginners”.

But some others said the revision appeared to be in line with international prices, notably New York cotton futures, which had declined sharply a day earlier in the absence of strong demand from China and speculative traders.

Most of the ginners, notably those still holding long positions preferred to keep to the sidelines rather than selling their unsold stocks of lint at the lower rates, they said.

Ready off-take, therefore, fell to a modest proportions, although some of the local brokers said a good number of lots changed hands at the falling prices around Rs2,500 or slightly above.

After several lean sessions, official spot rates were lowered by Rs25 per maund around Rs2,525 but there was no reports of selling by the ginners. New York cotton futures also fell by 1.47 and 1.59 cents at 55.45 and 55.02 cents per lb for both the maturing March and the ruling May settlements respectively.