KARACHI, April 19: Trading on the cotton market on Thursday remained sluggish as buyers and sellers strictly adhered to their rigid positions in line with their parity levels.

Stray enquiries from some of the local spinners and mill were reported by local brokers but price ideas of both the sellers and the buyers were poles apart.

“Most of the ginners both from the upper and southern Sindh who hold bulk of the unsold stock of fine lots are eyeing the price level beyond Rs2,800 and are said to be awaiting that moment,” cotton analysts said.

But some others said spinners were also awaiting the arrival of the imported stuff under the forward deals made a couple of weeks earlier, hoping that they could impart a stabilising impact on the prevailing prices in the coming weeks.

The battle of wits between the major partners of the cotton trade was now said to be at its peak and laxity on the part of any one of them could work against their interest, said a leading broker.

However, ginners are not worried over the absence of spinners and mills and firmly held on to their unsold positions hoping the latter could be back in the market any day, market sources said.Moreover, an unsold stock of below half a million bales worth about Rs6 billion is in no way a financial problem for them as leading among them had already met bank demands on them, they said.

Official spot rates were, therefore, again held unchanged at the previous levels in the absence of any feedback from the ready market.

Although unconfirmed reports said stray lots of inferior lint from the central Sindh ginneries did change hands around Rs2,550 and Rs2,600 but no deal was reported to the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA).