960403

Cotton

futures

narrowly

firmer

NEW YORK: NYCE cotton futures closed narrowly firmer in the front months, having crept over the unchanged level in afternoon trade on local short covering, floor sources said on Tuesday.

"The locals don't want to go home short with forecasts of rain in South America," one trader said.

Most-active May closed up 0.08 cent at 84.86 cents a lb, having ranged from 84.90 and 84.25 cents. July went out 0.08 cent firmer at 85.86 cents a lb. The deferred contracts closed 0.43 to 0.16 lower.

Tuesday's volume was estimated at 5,000 lots, compared with Monday's official volume of 8,806 lots.

Players will begin to more closely monitor the weather, as heavy rain continues to pound crops in South America, and a drought continues to threaten the new crop in West Texas.

"To move us out of this range, weather is going to have to be more of a factor," said David Brandon, an analyst with Smith Barney.

But prices remain rangebound and trade dull, analysts said.

"It's almost like the futures are trying to tell us we don't need to go lower, but if we go higher overseas buyers might cancel," Brandon said. Dealers also noted trade buying near the day's lows.-Reuter