KARACHI, March 18: Physical activity on the cotton market on Saturday failed to pick up as leading spinners remained busy with TCP tender, matching their bids in line with benchmark prices.

The exact figure of total sales to both the local and foreign buyers will be known by the next week after the TCP official rate committee evaluates improved offers, brokers said.

“Local spinners who still need about half a million bales of lint to cover their forward positions are expected to clinch the lion’s share of the 50,000 bales under sales,” they said.

But on the other hand trading on the local market was again affected as spinners and mills stayed on the sidelines anticipating further fall in prices, they said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has released arrival figures for the fortnight ended March 15, 2006, totalling 12.343m bales, showing an increase of 37,000 bales over the previous figure.

According to the figures, spinners have purchased 10.817m bales so far and private sector exporters 73,250 bales, leaving an unsold stock of 1.453m bales with the ginners, which showed a fall of 0.3m bales over the previous week’s total.

The total crop of 12.5m bales as projected by some official agencies may not be achieved as the next figure for April 1, will be about final, ginners said adding based on the current figure, the target of 12.4m bales may not be touched.

But they ruled out the possibility of an increase in prices as spinners appeared to be more interested in TCP sales rather than the local market.

“An unsold stock of 1.452m bales may not be on the higher side in normal conditions but the current regulated buying by the mills shows that it is too big a total to dispose of,” says a leading ginner.

Official spot rates were again held unchanged in the absence of spinners and mills from the market but stray lots changed hands well above it.

New York cotton futures, on the other hand, fell further by 0.43 and 0.48 cents per lb for both the ruling May and the distant July contracts at 54.06 and 55.30 cents per lb, respectively.

Ready off-take was light totalling 1,260 bales, from Rahimyar Khan ginneries at Rs2,425 per maund.