October 18, 2001	Thursday	Rajab 30, 1422

NEW YORK, Oct 17: NY cotton futures bucked an early visit to fresh contract lows as local and speculative buying enabled the market to finish firmer on Tuesday although the overall outlook remained grim for fiber prices.

Keith Brown, president of commodity firm Keith Brown and Co. in Moultrie, Georgia, said the market was due for some kind of rebound after easing for the past three sessions to daily life-of-contract lows.

We’re just seeing some nervous buying coming in, he said, adding though that you “can’t read too much” in the cotton market’s dealings on Tuesday regarding a longer-term trend for futures.

December cotton went up 0.14 cent to close at 31.47 cents a lb, trading from 31.60 to a new contract trough of 30.80 cents.

March declined to a new low of 32.55 cents before settling at 33.20 cents, up 0.27 cent on the day.

Back months gained between 0.05-0.33 cent.

Small speculators and some trade accounts deflated cotton in early business, according to brokers.

A fall in the Cotlook A Index by 0.25 cent to 36.90 cents may have also exerted pressure on futures.

The A index is used by the trade as an indicator of global cotton demand and has been dropping in lock step with New York cotton futures.

Mike Stevens of Swiss Financial Services in Mandeville, Louisiana, said a series of buy orders from the trade caught locals short and they were then forced to cover.

Brown said the cotton market was not influenced by activity in outside financial markets since the Dow Jones Industrial average traded in a sideways manner and the grains complex crawled to higher ground.

Technicians said support for the December cotton contract would still be at the key psychological target of 30 cents. That would be followed by the recent spot continuation low of 29.50, followed by 27.80 cents.

Traders said December may have to visit the 29.50 cents area to help the market complete a bottoming out action.

Resistance in the contract was seen at 32 and 32.50 cents, and then in layers up to 35 cents.

Dealers estimated final volume traded at some 7,500 lots, compared with the previous tally of 6,564 lots.—Reuters