KARACHI, Nov 23: Cotton prices on Friday eased further by Rs25 per maund as ginners continued to indulge in panic selling and found willing spinners and mills to grab the offered lots.

Another 40,000 bales changed hands at an average rate of Rs3,150 per maund for the fine lots, mostly from the southern Punjab ginneries, while central Sindh lint was traded around Rs3,050.

Floor brokers said strange were the ways of the cotton trade but it was now pretty clear that even a short crop could not check market decline as panic grips the market.“No others than the ginners are to be blamed for the current crisis-like situation,” they said, adding “leading among them were holding onto their long unsold positions hoping a price flare-up in the backdrop of a short crop but spinners outwitted them in the final analysis”.

The higher forward deals made by the spinners to bridge the local supply gaps was the weapon ruthlessly used by them and the panic among the ginners that followed did the needful, some others said.

But a leading cotton analyst said prices could ease further lower modestly after ginners overcome the current panic but they may rebound after the supply and demand factor took the control of market forces.

No one could deny the fact that the crop is short and supply gap may be filled in through import alone as it involves massive cash amounts and that factor could bring ginners again in the fighting arena any time by the next week, he added.

However, lint prices above Rs3,000 per maund are still attractive based on the average price of phutti during the current season and ginners may not be entirely at the receiving end, he added.

Meanwhile, members of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) met in Multan on Friday to have an overview of the falling prices of lint and take corrective steps to forestall the decline. They will again meet on Sunday and will announce their future line of action, reports reaching here said.

The following were some of the notable deals reported on Friday evening.

SINDH TYPE: 1,000 bales, Dadu at Rs3,100, 400 and 200 bales, Shahdadpur and Tando Adam at Rs3,050.