* Surge in outside markets push cotton up
* Dec contract breaks out of range-bound trade

NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Cotton futures finished higher Friday on
speculative buying inspired by the strong tone of financial markets, brokers
said.
The benchmark December cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. increased
2.73 cents or nearly 4 percent to finish at 72.66 cents per lb, dealing from
70.18 to 72.76 cents.
It was the highest close for the second-position cotton contract in almost a
month, Thomson Reuters data showed.
For the week, the second position is up 2.88 percent.
Volume traded Friday stood at around 20,700 lots, about 40 percent under the
30-day norm, Thomson Reuters data showed.
"It's not cotton fundamentals," said Mike Stevens, an independent analyst in
Mandeville, Louisiana, when asked about the reason behind cotton's rise. "We're
looking good because the outside markets look good."
Global shares jumped and oil prices rose after Chinese economic data eased
fears of a potential hard landing by the world's second largest economy which
could have further crimped world economic growth.
Consequently, the euro rose versus the dollar for the first time in four
days as the Chinese data prompted investors to take on risk and pare bets
against the single currency.
Cotton's also got a boost from the grains complex, where the worst drought
in a quarter century powered a rally in corn and soybeans.
Stevens said the market should move higher now than the December contract
ended above the 70-72.50/60 cents range the market had been in for several
weeks.
Traders said the focus on macroeconomic factors will continue to dominate
dealings next week.
Open interest, an indicator of investor interest, rose for the fifth
straight session to 172,664 lots as of July 12, the exchange said.
Volume traded on Thursday amounted to 16,202 lots, according to ICE Futures
data.