KARACHI, May 25: Cotton market on Thursday lacked normal trading interest as spinners adhered to the sidelines after ginners further raised their asking prices in the backdrop of falling unsold stocks.

Ginners from the upper Sindh and southern Punjab who still hold bulk of unsold fine lots are not inclined to lower their asking prices below Rs2,550 per maund, which according to spinners are well beyond their export parity levels, brokers said.

That is perhaps why spinners enter the market like hurricane and indulge in big-lot business and the very day leave the arena in apparent effort to outwit ginners, they said, adding “but ginners are not that fool.”

“The current standoff on the price front will continue till the arrival of the new crop, some other said “fearing that it could be no win situation for the spinners”.

There is, however, a loud whispering in the market that leading spinner groups are very much in contact with the ginners and lifting lint stocks according to their needs mostly at ginners options details of which are released to market a bit late, they added.

Meanwhile, reports coming in from the major cotton growing areas indicate that sowing of the new crop is well in progress and is expected to be completed within the officially fixed sowing period up to June 15.

The condition of the earlier sown new crop is said to be fairly good owing to an extremely warm weather and there are no report of pest attack in any of the area, market sources said.

They said picking operations in the lower Sindh cotton belt have been resumed in some of the areas and phutti arrivals in the ginneries are expected to start by the first week of next month.

Official spot rates were firmly held at the last levels but some of the deals reported in the ready section were done well above them.

New York cotton futures on the other hand fell from the overnight highs on selling, off 0.83 and 0.50 cents per lb for both the ruling July and new crop October at 49.95 and 53.40 cents respectively.

Ready business was light totalling about 2,500 bales, both from the upper Sindh and southern Punjab ginneries done around Rs2,525 to Rs2,550 per maund.