NEW YORK, Nov 15: Cotton futures closed mixed on Friday in mostly switch trade but confidence remained shaky and a further drubbing for fiber contracts seems likely in the days ahead, brokers said.

The key December cotton contract fell 0.27 cent to finish at 41.03 cents per lb, dealing from 41.01 to 43.15 cents.

Volume traded in the December contract was at a meagre 4,839 lots at 2:45 p.m. (1945 GMT).

The March cotton contract rose 0.65 cent to conclude at 42.51 cents.It’s considerably calmer, said Mike Stevens, an analyst for brokers SFS Futures in Mandeville, Louisiana.

But he said the steadiness which supported cotton is likely tied to the start of the delivery period next week and the market is therefore vulnerable to “further liquidation pressure. Cotton prices have sunk as part of a wave of investment fund liquidation sparked by the world’s worst financial crisis since the Great Depression in 1929.

Analysts said the sharp fall in cotton prices would inevitably shrink further US cotton plantings in 2009.

A report by First Capitol Group cotton expert Sharon Johnson said: The impact on smaller area will be one reason for futures to rally but is it enough to hold values up?

That answer lies in how much worse our economic situation gets and if the media hype is sufficient to keep consumers at home long after the upcoming holiday season. My short answer is buckle up, this roller coaster ride is not over, not by a long shot, she added.

Brokers Flanagan Trading Corp. sees support in the December cotton contract at 40.35 and 39.40 cents, with resistance at 41.10 and 42 cents.

Volume traded Thursday was at 51,573 lots, according to exchange data.

Open interest in the cotton market sank 8,222 lots to 143,264 lots as of Nov. 13, it said.—Reuters