KARACHI, Dec 13: Trading on the cotton market on Monday resumed on an easy note as spinners and mills curtailed their ready off-take owing to a long holiday weekend ahead because of Muharram.

Analysts attributed the current either-way price movements to speculative activity on the global markets, notably New York cotton futures market and its negative fallout is felt elsewhere, including Pakistan because of a short crop.

Never before in the history of local cotton trading prices had risen or fallen by Rs700 to 1,000 per maund in a single session as they are behaving in the current season, they added.

Floor brokers said bulk of the selling was confined to the Sindh type as some of the deals were traded below Rs9,000 per maund, but in Punjab variety though traded lower from the recent highs most of the deals were done well above Rs9,000 per maund.

The overall market trend was, however, on the lower side partly because of delivery problems and partly to a considerable fall in mill demand, they said.

Unlike the previous sessions, when big-lot business highlighted the activity, most of the deals reported on Monday were of retail nature and reflected that spinners are extending guarded support hoping further fall in prices in the next couple of sessions, they added.

Official spot rates were, however, quoted unchanged at Rs9,100 per maund but in the ready section most of the deals were quality-based.

The following are some of the deals reported by Karachi Brokers' Forum on Monday evening: SINDH TYPE: 1,000 bales, Shahdadpur at Rs8,800, 1,000 bales, Nawabshah at Rs8,800 to 9,000, 600 bales, Khairpur at Rs9,000 and 1,000 bales, upper Sindh at Rs9,200.

PUN JAB VARIETY: 1,400 bales, Haroonabad at Rs8,900 to 9,000, 2,000 bales, Kabirwala at Rs9,000 to 9,200, 1,200 bales, Khanewal at Rs9,000 to 9,050, 1,600 bales, Fort Abbas, 800 bales, Liaquatpur, 600 bales, Rajanpur, 1,000 bales, Bahawalpur, 200 bales, each Mianwali, Mian Channu and Multan at Rs9,000, 1,200 bales, each Rahimyar Khan and Alipur, 200 bales, Bakhar and Jhang and 400 bales, D.G. Khan at Rs9,200.