Trading activity on the cotton market on Saturday witnessed improvement as needy spinners indulged in buying cotton to meet their needs. The official spot rate remained unchanged at Rs 5450, dealers said.

In the ready session, over 5000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 5400 and Rs 5650, they said. Seed cotton prices in Sindh were at Rs 2600-2700 and in Punjab rates were at Rs 2800 and Rs 2900, they said.

Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that under the circumstances the spinners were making deals to meet the immediate requirements. Unsold stock of yarn and uncertainties over the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), all are main concerns for the businessmen, other experts said.

The following deals were reported to have changed hands: 600 bales of cotton from Ghotki at Rs 5400, 200 bales from Lodhran at Rs 5000, 400 bales from Pak Pattan at Rs 5075, 200 bales from Jalalpur at Rs 5450, 400 bales from Multan at Rs 5500-5600, 2073 bales from Bahawalpur at Rs 5575, 1000 bales from Khanpur at Rs 5600 and 1200 bales from Rahim Yar Khan at Rs 5600-5650.

On global front, ICE cotton gained on Friday to end the week up after a sharp drop the prior session on news top consumer China would begin releasing its massive stockpile, as some investors covered short positions.