KARACHI, March 7: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on a dull note as ginners raised their asking prices but spinners were not inclined to go beyond their export parity levels.

Stray lots from the southern Punjab ginneries did change hands at Rs14,000 per maund as leading spinners and mills kept to the sidelines awaiting further developments on the international markets, floor brokers said.

Although unsold stocks with the ginners are falling each session owing to direct sales to the mills by some of them as leading among them are eyeing further higher levels beyond it, they said.

But analysts ruled out the possibility of any fall in the prices as they were based on supply and demand in the backdrop of unprecedented rise in the New York cotton futures.

Indications are that the speculative squeeze on the New York futures may not be eased for the near-term as India’s stance on the export has further accentuated the situation, they said and added that India had a sizable exportable surplus of about 2.5m bales, but was not a willing seller and hoped to sell it at further higher prices.

They said massive presence of the China in the US markets was another price raiser and its withdrawal could cause fresh fall in global prices as speculative forces would indulge in panic-selling to avert major losses.

Meanwhile, sowing of new crop in some of the areas of the lower Sindh and the central Punjab cotton belts is well in progress and expected to be completed by the end of the current month, market sources said.

Official spot rates were revised upward by Rs500 per maund at Rs12,500, but some of the deals in the ready section were done at Rs14,000 per maund as under: 400 bales each Rahimyar Khan and Fazilpur at Rs14,000.