KARACHI, June 4: The cotton market on Friday lacked normal trading interest as both buyers and sellers remained conspicuous by their absence because of a general strike called by the MMA.

Leading brokers and cotton analysts were busy discussing the negative fall-out of steep decline in the New York futures on renewed unloading by some leading speculative traders.

The ruling July contract on Thursday hit its nine-month low of 56.20 cent per lb before bouncing back to close partially recovered at 57.04, off 0.34 cents. The new crop October also fell by 0.75 cents per lb at 57.25 and indications are that both could fall further amid predictions of fresh liquidations by the big players.

"The percent decline in foreign cotton prices could make imports more attractive but may not have any sympathetic impact on local prices," says a leading broker. "The size of the unsold stock around half a million bales is too small to influence prices on the lower side."

Market sources ruled out the possibility of a widely speculated price flare-up in the coming weeks as the lower world prices offer an attractive bait to spinners and mills. After having imported 1.5m bales so far from various sources, the spinners may need another 0.2m bales before the new crop arrives on the market sometime in July.

The trading hall of the Karachi Cotton Association, remained deserted before Juma prayers and did not improve after it, most of the brokers closed their offices a bit early in the absence of fresh buying from the spinners and mills, dealers said.

But reports coming from the upcountry cotton trading centres indicate that stray lots changed hands in some southern Punjab cotton belt as the spinners from there were not inclined to sit idle, they said, adding "the impact of a country-wide strike in the semi-rural areas of the cotton belt was not that impressive as it has been in Karachi."

However, some of the local spinners and open-end users of lint were hard-pressed as most of them mostly operate on day-to-day supply and demand basis because of liquidity problems, brokers said.

Official spot rates were firmly held at the last levels but in the ready section some of the deals in the Punjab cotton belt were done below this rate in line with quality considerations.