NEW YORK, Oct 18: Cotton futures finished sharply lower on Wednesday as another round of speculative sales hammered the market, and the weak tone meant fibre contracts could slip further this week, brokers said.The New York Board of Trade's December cotton contract slumped 0.87 cent to settle at 48.33 cents per lb, in a band from 48.08 to 48.70 cents. March slid 1.02 to 51.43 cents. The rest lost 0.60 to 1.25 cents.

Mike Stevens, an analyst for brokers SFS Futures in Mandeville, Louisiana, said the inability of the market to build on its recent steadiness prompted speculators to bail on cotton.

“We’ve gotten a lot more down days than up days the last three weeks,” he said, adding weakness in the complex was a signal for players to push many contracts into new lifetime lows during Wednesday's session.

Dealers said trade and suspected consumer buying/export business enabled cotton to hold its lows and prevent the market from falling completely out of bed.—Reuters