KARACHI, Jan 14: Cotton prices eased further by another Rs100 per maund on Saturday as spinners and mills slowed down their covering purchases against forward foreign sales apparently awaiting new improvement in demand.

Much of the selling was again centred around the Punjab type, which was traded lower between Rs5,400 to 5,700 per maund depending on the quality of lint.

Some of lots from the southern Punjab ginneries, notably Sadigabad and Rahimyar Khan were sold at the highest rate of Rs5,750.

The chairman of the Karachi Brokers' Forum, Naseem Usman, said prices could ease further as market support operations of the TCP are delayed for want of fixation of buying prices by it.

Some of the ginners, whose holding capacity is not that sound, sold in a bit haste to clear dues of growers, they added.

'Moreover, spinners and mills are not in that hurry as most of the them had already covered a good portion of their forward positions during the last couple of months and may stay on the sidelines for sometime more,' he said.

The other contributory factor is projection of a higher crop, which assures spinners there may not be pressure on ready supply till the end of thecurrent season, analysts said But on the other hand, holding capacity of ginners as a whole may not be that strong and some of their weaker links may not await an improvement in prices and may resort to hasty selling, they added.

Ginners said future price outlook may be clear af ter the TCP enters the market and by that wild speculations would rule the market.

Meanwhile, reports reaching here from the southern cotton belt indicate that there was winter rain in some of the areas close to DG Khan last night, which is claimed not good for the crop in bolls as it damages the quality of phutti.

Official spot rates were lowered by Rs100 per maund at Rs5,500 but in the ready section some of the deals, both in Sindh and the Punjab types, were done well below them.

New York cotton futures also further fractionally easedby 0.22 and 0.17 cents per lb at 95.47 and 95.08 for both the ruling March and the distant May contracts, respectively.

The following are some of the notable deals reported by the Karachi Brokers Forum on Saturday:

SINDH TYPE: 200 bales, Sanghar at Rs4,200, 400 bales, Shahdadpur at 4,300 to 4,500, 400 bales, Tando Adam at 4,350 and 400 bales, Salehpat at 5,600.

PUNJAB VARIETY: 1,000 bales, Faqirwali at Rs5,300 to 5,350, 1,000 bales, Haroonabad at 5,300 to 5,400, 600 bales, Hasilpur at 5,450 to 5,500, 600 bales, Bahawalpur at 5,500 to 5,600, 400 bales, Fort Abbas at 5,500, 400, 600, 200 bales, Vehari, Yazman and Gojra at 5,600, 400 bales, Burewala at 5,650, 400 bales, each Tonsa Sharif, Shadan Lund, Noor, Jalalpur and 1,000 bales, Khanewal at 5,700, and 600 bales, Lodhran at 5,550 to 5,600.