Pakistan cotton market failed to attract buying from spinners on Saturday due to sharp fall in cotton crop production leaving the market with slow trading activity. The slow activity kept prices steady at overnight level and sluggish demand from spinners is expected to continue even for the rest of the season, according to floor broker.

The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates also remained steady at overnight level.

A major factor affecting trading activity is the financial crisis being faced by textile industry as a whole and spinners in particular. There is little off-take of cotton yarn in domestic market and foreign buying is also slow.

However, large spinning groups have already imported around 2.1 million bales (1 bale = 170kg).

According to analyst, Naseem Usman, year-on-year fall of 32 per cent this season is going to have its toll over the entire economy because the country will also have to foot an import bill for 2.1m bales and burden foreign exchange reserves.

Major deals that changed hands on ready counter were: 1,100 bales from Rasoolabad done at Rs5,445, 200 bales Mirpur Kathelo at Rs5,550, 400 bales Ghokti at Rs5,550, 1,800 bales Bakhar at Rs4,900 to Rs5,100, 600 bales Faqirwali at Rs5,150, 400 bales Chishtian at Rs5,150, 1,600 bales Fort Abbas at Rs5,200 to Rs5,325, 400 bales Hasilpur at Rs5,450, 600 bales Khanpur at Rs5,550,2,000 bales Rahimyar Khan at Rs5,600 and 2,000 bales Sadiqabad at Rs5,600.

On the global front, the New York cotton market recovered part of the recent losses where all the future contracts closed with modest gains.