NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Cotton prices bounced higher Friday to correct from
recent losses with help from a weaker dollar.

May cotton settled up 170 points, or 2%, at 80.47 cents a pound. The contract
lost 2.4% from last week.

Overall, cotton prices have eased 4.8% since hitting two-year highs on March
1. Forecasts for tighter U.S. and world cotton stocks and rising consumption
pushed May futures up to 84.60 cents a pound. Light profit-taking from
speculators and commercial traders has weighed on prices since.

However, buying from textile mills came in at lows hit Thursday and
Friday--at 78.70-78.76 for the May contract, said Sharon Johnson, senior cotton
analyst at First Capitol Group in Atlanta. A lack of selling Friday allowed
prices to rise easily, Johnson noted.

On Friday, analysts said traders covered shorts, or bought previously sold
contracts to close out exposure to bearish bets. Speculators also bought new
bullish positions as the dollar weakened. A soft greenback makes commodities
less expensive in stronger currencies.

The dollar weakened against the euro as fears over European debt were calmed.
An unexpected increase in February U.S. retail sales also fueled cotton gains.
Analysts said the news triggers the possibility of an increase in consumer
demand in coming months.

Cotton prices are still technically overbought after the steep rally in the
last five weeks, said Boyd Cruel, senior softs analyst at Vision Financial
Markets in Chicago. May futures will likely tread sideways to lower in the next
week toward support at 78 cents a pound, Cruel said.

ICE daily cotton stocks increased by 8,266 500-pound bales Thursday to total
684,132 bales, with 49,416 bales awaiting review, according to exchange data.

ICE cotton open interest--the number of active positions left at the end of
the session--decreased by 186,314 positions Thursday to total 186,314,
according to the exchange.

Volume was estimated 12,870 lots. In floor-traded options, approximately
10,266 calls and 5,395 puts traded, according to exchange data.

Close Change Range
May 80.47 +170 pts 78.67-80.77
Jly 81.02 +174 pts 79.29-81.25
Dec 75.62 + 49 pts 74.89-75.67