KARACHI, March 7: Trading activity on the cotton market on Tuesday remained slow in the absence of strong support from spinners and mills owing perhaps to higher asking prices.

Leading brokers said most of the time spinners just made stray enquiries about the available lots and price but did not confirm any deal apparently anticipating modest decline in prices.

A persistent decline in New York cotton futures seems to have encouraged the spinners and mills to go slow as the chances to competitive imports to fill in the supply gaps are getting bright each day, they said.

“The ruling May contract is heading towards its new benchmark price of 50 cents per lb or slightly owing to the absence of China from the world market,” spinners said, adding: “Spinners and mills may opt for imports after futures fell below the benchmark prices.”

New York cotton futures fell further by 0.58 and 0.56 cents per lb at 54.02 and 53.93 for both the maturing March and the ruling May contracts, respectively, showing a fall of thee cents from the seasonal highs.

Market sources said centre of physical trading had been shifted to the southern Punjab cotton belt where bulk of the unsold stocks was held by ginners, mostly of fine lots.

The spinners and mills have a direct link with the ginners of upper and lower Sindh and are lifting unspecified lots below Rs2,600 depending on quality of lint, including staple length, they added.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the lower Sindh cotton belt indicate that the growth of the newly sown crop is satisfactory and there are no reports of pest attack owing to warm weather.

Lower Sindh cotton arrives on the market late June or early July, while that of Punjab in late September or early October.

Official spot rates were firmly held at the overnight levels amid dull ready activity.

According to the KCA, leading brokers did not report any deal owing to price differentials, but brokers in the southern Punjab cotton belt said about 4,000 bales changed hands on an average price of Rs2,525 per maund.