KARACHI, March 16: Active trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Friday as spinners and mills were back in the market and lifted all the lots offered by the ginners for sales.

Floor brokers said it appeared to be mopping operation by the mills and spinners to corner all the lots irrespective of quality and mic as their chief worry was to replenish their stock positions.

That was perhaps why some of the lots were purchased as low as Rs2,400 and some other at Rs2,700 per maund depending on quality, which reflected that spinners were not inclined to sit on the sidelines owing to a short crop.

Spinners said although some of the leading ginners were holding on to their unsold stocks of fine lots eyeing fresh rise in prices and to sell them at the higher levels.

The weaker links of the ginners who were holding on to stray lots of inferior lint were, however, active sellers around the current levels as they have lost hope of fresh rise in prices, market sources said.

A leading spinner said ginners from the southern Punjab and upper Sindh were holding a key to the fresh price outlook as they released their stocks for sale according to their own market strategy.

It was in this background that official spot rates were firmly held at Rs2,575 per maund in line with average prices at which ready business was transacted.

New York cotton futures on the other hand showed fresh fall of 0.06 and 0.08 cents at 53.44 and 54.26 cents per lb for both the ruling May and the forward July contracts respectively.

Ready business was active and amounted to 10,000 bales, as under:

SINDH TYPE: 600 bales, Khairpur at Rs2,545, 600 bales, Gothki at Rs2,650 and 200 bales, Tando Adam at Rs2,475.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,853 bales, Rahimyar Khan at Rs2,600-2,700, 600 bales, Chingoth at Rs2,575, 1,000 bales, Snawa, at Rs2,500, 1,400 bales, Bhawalpur at Rs2,470, 600 bales, Lodhran at Rs2,550, 400 bales, Uch Sharif at Rs2,500, 300 bales, Gagon at Rs2,400 and 200 bales Mungi Banglow at Rs2,550.