KARACHI, March 8: Physical business on the cotton market on Thursday remained at low ebb as both spinners and mills kept to the sidelines for no apparent bearish reasons.

“We are not inclined to build up long inventories of lint in an uncertain export outlook for textiles,” says a leading spinner explaining their absence from the market and their hide and seek game.

We will certainly resume our normal market operations after smooth sailing on the export front and competitive prices, he added.

But leading brokers said stray lots did change hands, notably in the southern Punjab as a leading cartel of spinners lifted a couple of fine lots above Rs2,600 per maund.

Market sources on the other hand said as the asking prices by the ginners are on the higher side of the mills’ export parity levels they think twice to buy above their parity levels.

“The mill intake may remain fairly erratic until prices improve on the international markets,” they said adding ”spinners are now eyeing improvement on the world textile markets.”

Meanwhile, reports coming from the southern Punjab cotton belt show that unsold stocks lying in the ginners’ godowns are steadily falling as some of the leading mills are making direct deals with the sellers, brokers said.

There was no change in the official spot rates, which were held unchanged at Rs2,525 per maund for an average quality lint.

New York cotton futures on the other hand showed a fractional rise of 0.5 cent at 54.45 cents per lb for the maturing March contract, while the ruling May delivery was quoted higher by 0.89 cents per lb at 54.48.

Ready off-take was at low ebb as deal was reported by the leading brokers but some others said about 2,000 bales did change hands both from the central Sindh and southern Punjab ginneries.