KARACHI, April 16: Cotton market lacked normal trading interest on Tuesday as sellers and buyers failed to match price ideas because of conflicting reports from the export front.

Stray lots, however, did change hands depending on quality premiums as spinners holding short stock positions were not inclined to sit idle and lifted about 2,500 bales, mostly of central Sindh variety, dealers said.

But the owners of some integrated units were after fine lots and were willing to pay a bit more, around Rs.1,750 per maund as they need them against their forward sales of cloth and higher count of cotton yarn to some Far Eastern buyers, notably from Japan and Hong Kong, they added.

Spinners claim export to the Far Eastern region are picking up and “we hope to cover the losses being suffered to some western countries during the last quarter of the current fiscal ending June 30.”

After the attack on World Trade Centre late last year, textile exports to the US and the European Union have fallen sharply but now are picking up after some tax concessions and an increase in quota, they added.

According to official sources, export of textiles, which constitutes 65 per cent of the total has dropped by 9.5 per cent during the first eight months of the current year, upsetting the annual foreign projections by a big margin. The export target has already been reduced to $9.2bn from the original $10bn because of Afghan war and dislocation in world trade.

“The benefits of higher cotton crop and the prevailing lower selling prices are yet to be injected in the trading system,” one spinner says adding “the near-term export outlook now appears positive.”

Meanwhile, the TCP has reported that it has purchased 1,800 bales of lint at Rs.1,855.00 during the last couple of days and also has contracted to buy 100 bales of contamination-free lint at Rs.1,956.00 per maund.

Official spot rates did not show any change for the second day in a row as they are in line with those at which physical business is being transacted.

New York cotton futures on the other hand remained under pressure and were marked further down by 0.58 and 0.50 cents per lb at 36.47 and 38.12 cents per lb for both the ruling May and the distant July settlements respectively.

Ready offtake remained slow as spinners and mills were not in haste owing to comfortable supply position and bought at will and mostly at their bid prices. About 2,500 bales, both from the Sindh and the Punjab ginneries changed hands.