KARACHI, Sept 2: Cotton prices on Thursday fell sharply lower on near-panic selling by a leading ginner followed by sympathetic hasty unloading by some others. Spinners and mills welcomed the steep decline and indulged in big-lot business and lifted all the lots at a uniform rate of Rs2,350.

Prices fell by Rs100 per maund from the overnight average selling rate of Rs2,450 to Rs2,350, sending shock waves among the ginners but leading among them held onto their positions.

Prices of the Punjab lint also showed sympathetic fall but unlike the Sindh ginners they did not indulge in hasty selling. Some of the deals in central Punjab cotton belt were done around Rs2,300.

But till late in the evening the situation was not clear how the market will behave after trading resumes on Friday but there was panic among the ginners, while on the other hand growers were unaware about the negative development on the local market, dealers said.

There was no trace of the overnight bullish trend after the trading resumed as a leading ginner from the Sindh cotton belt indulged in hasty selling for no apparent negative news.

"How that particular ginner could manage to lower his asking prices after buying phutti at the higher rates", many leading brokers debated the question "the consensus was he might have purchased phutti at the lower rates".

The near-term price outlook appears uncertain as much will depend on the holding capacity of leading ginners and their will to hold the price line above Rs2,400 per maund, brokers said.

There was, however, no change in the official spot rates, which remained stable at the overnight levels amid active trading. After last couple of sessions' steep rise, New York cotton futures on Thursday came in for stray selling and fell by 0.40 and 0.45 cents for both the ruling October and the distant December settlements at 53.40 and 53.91 cents per lb respectively.

Ready offtake was active as till late in the evening about 10,000 bales from the Sindh ginners changed hands, the following being some of the notable deals: 4,000 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,350, 1,000 bales, each Shahdadpur and Sanghar at Rs2,350, 400 bales, Nayabad also at this rate, 1,400 bales, Mirpurkhas at Rs2,200 to Rs2,250 and 400 bales, Khipro at Rs2,340.