NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Cotton futures finished
higher Thursday on follow-through investor, commercial and
possible fund buying boosting the market and could give fiber
contracts a sustained lift in the days ahead, dealers said.

Benchmark March cotton on ICE Futures U.S. increased
0.82 cent to close at 94.21 cents per lb, dealing from 92.69 to
94.88 cents.

Open interest in cotton , an indicator of investor exposure
in the market, has risen over 10,000 lots over the past three
sessions to 178,051 lots as of Feb. 1, ICE Futures U.S. data
showed.

Sharon Johnson, senior cotton analyst for commodities
brokerage Penson Futures in Atlanta, said commercial or fund
accounts were apparently establishing positions in the market.

Cotton ended up nearly 2 percent January for its second
consecutive monthly gain as better sentiment in the commodity
complex lifted cotton after a 10 percent drop in November.

Volume traded on Thursday stood at over 23,800 lots, around
two-thirds above the 30-day average, according to preliminary
Thomson Reuters data.

Market players are now looking forward to next Thursday's
U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly supply and demand report.

U.S. industry group National Cotton Council will issue its
annual survey of potential U.S. cotton plantings in 2012.

Wednesday's volume stood at 30,413 lots, from the prior
session's 34,060 lots, exchange data showed.