By Julie Wernau

Cotton prices failed to sustain a brief rally Tuesday after winter weather slammed Texas, raising fears that unharvested crops there could sustain damage.

Cotton for March delivery dropped 0.2% to end at 63.87 cents a pound after rising as high as 64.25 cents a pound in earlier trade.

Texas, which grows the most cotton in the U.S., is largely finished with its harvest, with about 5% still left on the stalk, Mr. Rose said. The snow, he said, could delay some shipments of cotton to ginning mills.

Cotton has been trading in a tight range between 62 cents and 65 cents since late November.