KARACHI, Jan 8: Cotton prices ended steady on Tuesday but trade activity decreased as millers were unwilling to buy local stock above Rs6,000 and growers were hesitant to sell below that level, brokers said.

The Karachi Cotton Exchange kept its official spot price unchanged at Rs6,000 per maund. No bales of cotton were exchanged in Sindh but 5,200 bales of cotton were exchanged in Punjab at Rs5,727 to Rs6,100.

Most transactions were executed below Rs6,000.

According to reports, China, the world's biggest cotton consumer and importer, is studying a proposal to issue extra import quotas for textile mills which have been pushing the government to boost the amount of cheaper overseas cotton they can buy.

Any increase in imports from China could boost US cotton prices, as the United States is the largest exporter of the fibre to China.

Foreign cotton supplies can cost as much as 40 per cent less than local cotton, whose price is boosted by the government's stockpiling policy.

The following transactions were reported on the ready counter on Tuesday:

PUNJAB TYPE: 200 bales, Burewala at Rs5,725, 200 bales, Vehari at Rs5,825, 200 bales, Chistian at Rs5,850, 200 bales, Kabirwala at Rs5,900, 200 bales, Jahania at Rs5,900, 800 bales, Layyah at Rs5,975, 400 bales, Shah Jamal at Rs5,975, 200 bales, Tonsa Sharif at Rs6,000, 1,200 bales, Rahim Yar Khan at Rs6,000 to Rs6,100 and 1,600 bales, Mian Wali at Rs6,100.