NEW YORK, June 7: Cotton futures finished firmer Friday on investment fund buying sparked by a rally in other commodity markets and fiber contracts may use follow-through interest to punch higher next week, brokers said.

The now benchmark December cotton contract shot up 1.94 cents to close at 74.95 cents per lb, ranging from 73 to 75.76 cents. The spot July contract gained 1.87 cents to end at 66.52 cents, trading from 64.56 to 67.39 cents.

Volume in the December contract stood at 16,892 lots at 3:21 p.m. EDT (1921 GMT) while July volume was at 16,826 lots.

If you (eventually) close above Monday’s high, then you’ve got a good shot at another leg up, said Mike Stevens, an analyst for brokers SFS Futures in Mandeville, Louisiana.

The now-key December cotton contract hit a session peak of 75.41 cents on Monday.Stevens said the market also received support from talk of dry, hot weather in Texas, which is expected to plant more than half of all US cotton in the 2008/09 marketing year (August/July).

Forecasters DTN Meteorlogix said Texas should be mostly dry through the weekend and into Tuesday, with temperatures ranging from 62 to 94 degrees Fahrenheit (17 to 34 Celsius). Soil moisture is being badly depleted with conditions of the last few days.

With no replant moisture, at least some cotton acreage is being lost almost daily under these conditions, a report this week by Stevens said.The market is also look at when index funds actively begin rollover action before deliveries commence June 24.

Separately, the trade is now looking toward the US Agriculture Department’s monthly supply/demand report on Tuesday and then the USDA’s annual plantings report on June 30.

Traders said resistance in the December contract was at 75.41 cents, with support pegged at 73.50 and 73 cents.

Volume traded Thursday in the cotton market hit 34,977 lots, exchange data showed. Open interest in the cotton market rose 1,457 lots at 274,599 lots as of June 5, it added.—Reuters