KARACHI, Dec 7: Cotton prices on Friday fell further as ginners continued to unload their long positions amid falling demand from the mills and spinners.

In physical trading, most of the deals were finalized around Rs1,825 to Rs2,000 for Sindh varieties including seed stuff but the Punjab lint remained under pressure partly because of quality premiums.

Unconfirmed reports indicate owing to late pest attack in some areas of the Punjab cotton belt, notably southern Punjab the quality of lint was damaged and that was perhaps why ginners are obliged to sell it much lower rates.

Fine types, what the ginners called, contamination-free lots from Sadiqabad and Rahimyar Khan ginneries were sold around Rs2,050 per maund but those from the central Punjab were available between Rs1,850 to Rs1,975, depending on quality.

Although the TCP has offered to buy lint from the ginners at Rs2,176 per maund, prices have suffered fresh fall in the ready section as ginners are selling to the spinners at the lower rates than to the TCP because of quality factors, cotton brokers said.

Moreover, most of the lots in trade between the spinners and the ginners do not conform to the quality standards of the TCP but the former have the blending options to consume inferior lots, they added.

Market sources said the market is generally being guided by the local supply and demand factors rather than any external development in the absence of foreign demand.

“Unlike the previous season when exporters have netted substantial orders owing to local cheaper stuff, the situation during the current is quite the reverse as new crop physical shipments are placed at a meagre total of about 25,000 bales,” they added.

The local prices are still a bit higher despite the recent hike in New York cotton futures to 36 cents per lb and hence a relative calm on the export front,they claim.

Ready offtake was comparatively slow as till late in the evening about 10,000 bales changed hands as under:

SINDH TYPE: 200 bales, Sakrand at Rs1,825, 200 bales, Bucheri at Rs1,825, and 1,000 bales, Kot Lalu at Rs2,000.