KARACHI, April 12: Active trading was witnessed on the cotton market on Monday after several lean sessions as both spinners and exporters covered their forward positions.

Although the private sector made modest covering purchases of low-mic lint from the central Sindh ginneries, the spinners, who have been sole buyers during the last couple of months, were a bit alarmed at their entry, brokers said.

Some of the leading spinners indulged in big-lot business, fearing a price flare-up after resumption of buying by the exporters and tried to grab the floating stock at the prevailing rates, they said.

"Unlike the previous sessions, the spinners and mills now may not be the sole buyers of unsold stock lying with the ginners," cotton analysts said. "The recent decline in world prices encouraged private sector exporters to exploit the situation and leading among them managed to net some export orders."

They said the exporters might remain in the market during the next couple of weeks also to meet their physical shipment deadlines and that could well mean heating up of the market, they said.

But some others said it might not be that easy to make bigger commitments in view of the highly erratic world cotton markets, and indications were that the exporters might go beyond their confirm orders.

Leading brokers, who have been sitting idle in the absence of fresh buying orders from the mills and spinners, welcomed the heating up of the market amid hopes that the current tempo of ready offake may remained maintained during the next couple of sessions.

Meanwhile, reports coming from the lower Sindh cotton belt indicate that sowing of the new crop in some of the areas has already been completed, while it is well in progress in some other areas, market sources said.

Owing to climatic conditions the sowing here is completed early, and the new crop of the lower Sindh cotton belt will start arriving by the end of July. Official spot rates were further lowered by Rs25 at Rs2,850 as bulk of the trade confined to low-mic lint.

Ready business was active as till late in the evening about 10,000 bales changed hands as under:

SINDH TYPE: 1,400 bales, Rasoolpur at Rs2,450, 600 bales, also at this rates; and 200 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs2,250. Purchased by exporters, 400 bales, Bucheri at Rs2,800 and 600 bales, Salehpat at Rs2,800, bought by the mills and spinners.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 200 bales, Rahimyar Khan at Rs3,000; 1,000 bales, Dyuniapur at Rs2,865; 3,000 bales, Vehari at Rs2,875; 200 bales, Haroonabad at Rs2,800; and 800 bales, Fazalpur at Rs2,825.