KARACHI: Cotton market on Saturday lacked normal trading interest as ginners and spinners remained locked in price war owing to unsettled conditions on the major world trading centres.

Floor brokers said the weakness of the New York cotton futures did not allow global markets including the local one as perceptions of cheaper imports continue to haunt local ginners who could not precisely react to the changing world news.

They said mill buying was falling each session because of slack demand of cotton yarn by the local ancillary industry and inventories of unsold stocks were building up.

They said China and India are also facing problems of various types in their respective countries linked to the textile trade.

The sharp decline in imports of lint by China seems to have chain impact on the falling world rates and the local market is also the victim of buying support rather than any other local problem as the crop is enough to meet the annual consumption demand of the industry, they said.

“Local prices should have further declined from the current levels but active support extended by the private sector exporters is keeping the market afloat,” said chairman of Karachi Brokers' Forum, Naseem Usman.

He said the world textile industry was heading for a big crisis owing to problems on the textile export front and sharp fall in demand of major consumers.

He said more than three dozen ancillary textile units in Bangladesh have been reportedly closed because of the brewing crisis and disturbing reports are also coming in from other countries.

Official spot rates were again held unchanged but stray lots in the ready section changed hands according to quality.

The following are some of the deals reported by the Karachi Brokers' Forum on Saturday: 400 bales, Sultanabad at Rs4,000, 400 bales, Mianwali at Rs5,700, 400 bales, Fort Abbas at Rs5,200, 400 bales each, Chistian, Fort Abbas and Hasilpur at Rs5,200 and 400 bales, Pir Mahal at Rs5,300.