KARACHI, July 12: Cheerless trading conditions prevailed on the cotton market on Wednesday as price ideas of ginners and spinners failed to find a meeting ground.

As a result, ready off-take remained at a low ebb as ginners were not inclined to lower their asking prices apparently on reports that the TCP had accepted bids only for 9,000 bales in its latest tender opened on July 10 against the offer of 42,000 bales, brokers said.

In the absence of foreign buyers local spinners and mills were the sole bidders and most of them failed to revise their bids in line with the TCP benchmark rates, they said.

Ginners hoped that spinners will be back in the market after having failed to get substantial number of bales from the TCP and held on to their positions rather than lowering their asking prices.

According to market sources ginners hold an unsold stock of about 60,000 bales and are said to be least worried by the arrival of new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt or the fresh sale tender by the TCP.

All eyes now seem to be focused on the arrival of the new crop from the lower Sindh cotton belt where some of the ginneries have resumed ginning operations but are not making forward sales apparently anticipating an increase in prices during the next couple of weeks.

Ginners from the lower Sindh cotton belt said the new crop would be available from the third week of the current month as arrivals of phutti were steadily picking up owing to a clear weather.

In the absence of feedback from the ready section, official spot rates were firmly held at the last level of Rs2,575 per maund.

New York cotton futures on the other hand posted fresh fractional rise of 0.19 and 0.35 cents at 50.68 and 52.65 cents per lb for both the ruling October and the forward December settlements respectively.

Ready business was light as about 1,200 bales, of low-mic lint from the central Punjab changed hands around Rs2,525 per maund and slightly above.