KARACHI, July 7: Trading resumed on a steady note on the cotton market on Monday as spinners and mills lifted all the new crop lots offered by the ginners for ready delivery.

The current fall in new crop prices, from Rs3,975 to Rs3,750, and the pace of phutti arrivals into the ginneries in the central Punjab cotton belts shows that the current season could be beneficial for all those associated with the cotton trade amid hopes of a good crop, said a leading floor broker.

Unlike the previous sessions when selling rates were mostly based on quality basis, the highest being Rs3,975 per maund for fine, most of the deals were finalised at a uniform rate of Rs3,750 per maund, market sources said.

“Both the spinners and ginners mean business,” they said, adding, “the former unsure of future price outlook were not inclined to take even calculated risks and are lifting all the lots being offered by the ginners.”

The latter also is not inclined to long unsold positions amid fears of further fall in prices as arrival of phutti indicates and the uniformed rate suggests both are happy over the developed consensus on pricing formula, they said.

The grower, the third major partner of the cotton trade, is also not inclined to hold unsold position and make sure the delivery of the newly-picked phutti into the ginneries, they added.

The smooth sailing on the supply and demand front indicates there is no scare about the size of the crop or the pest attack at least for the near-term and a perception of a good crop may not be an illusion, some others said.

It was perhaps in this background that the official spot for current crop were held unchanged at Rs3,650 per maund.

Mill ready off-take was on the higher side as till late in the evening about 7,000 bales, all from the Central Punjab ginneries, changed hands as under:1,200 bales, Burewala, 200 bales each, Haroonabad, Chichawatni, 400 bales each PakPattan, Arifwala and Sahiwal at Rs3,750.