KARACHI, April 20: Quieter conditions prevailed on the cotton market on Friday as physical activity remained slow in the absence of active demand from the spinners and mills.

Moreover, the southern Punjab markets were closed owing to Friday and fresh spinner enquiries from the local brokers were also on the lower side.

The interesting feature was that some of the spinners who had built-up long positions earlier in the season were now selling lint to their needy counterparts.A spinner who had surplus lint sold a big lot of 2,000 bales to another spinner at Rs2,800 per maund.

“It is more profitable to sell lint here rather than exporting end-products on the falling world textile market,” said a leading spinner, adding “owing to a number of problems including higher cost of inputs the export business is not that attractive now”.

Some of the private sector exporters who failed to find ready foreign buyers at a competitive rates followed the spinners and sold 200 bales to a mill at the higher rate of Rs2,775.

However, ginners are not worried over the new developments as it is a general practice when the local crop is short of the target.

“We are future market trend-setters,” said a leading ginner, who hold bulk of the unsold stock, adding that mills have to return to us before the new crop arrives and till then the standoff will continue”.

Official spot rates were again firmly held at the last close of Rs2,725 per maund well below those at which physical business was being done.

New York cotton futures on the other hand fell to 49.15 cents per lb, off 1.01 cents for the ruling May contract, making imports more attractive for the local spinners. Forward July settlement closed 0.91 cent lower at 51.33.

Apart from inter-mill and inter-mill exporter deals, only 200 bales from a Shahdadpur ginnery changed hands at Rs2,690.