KARACHI, June 28: Trading activity on the cotton market on Friday remained at a low ebb as spinners and mills remained busy with year-end stock-taking before resuming fresh covering operations.

Dealers said unconfirmed reports originating from the southern Punjab cotton belt where the bulk of the unsold stock of lint is lying, indicate that leading spinners are lifting quality lots at undisclosed rates.

But some dealers claim contamination-free lots meant for the TCP are now being purchased by the spinners around Rs1,900 per maund but details are not immediately available here.

Some of the local spinners also purchased good quality lint from the upper Sindh model ginning factories at about the same price, they added.

Floor brokers said the centre of physical trading has now been shifted to the areas where unsold stocks of lint are lying as spinners and ginners are striking direct deals without involving brokers.

That was perhaps why no leading local broker reported any deal brokered by him during the last four days and weaker links among them are worried over the developing situation, they added.

There are fears in the cotton circles here that the recent untimely rain in the upper central Sindh and central Punjab may have damaged the recently sown new crop as the tender plants could hardly sustain the impact of heavy downpour.

“The growers of some areas may have to opt for resowing if the tender plants could not survive during the next week in the extremely post-rain weather”, market sources said.

However, where the early sown crop is well above the injury level, the recent rain is beneficial for it and could accelerate its growth, they added.

It was perhaps in this background that there was no change in the official spot rates but New York cotton futures turned mixed. The ruling July settlement was quoted unchanged at 43.90 cents per lb, while the forward new crop October contract fell 0.63 cents per lb on profit-selling by speculators but it still stayed firm above 45.32 cents per lb.

Ready offtake remained at a low ebb but unconfirmed reports say about 3,000 bales, changed hands both from the uppers Sindh and southern Punjab ginneries amid reports of falling unsold stocks.