* Cotton consolidates in tight band
* Trade eyes USDA crop report Thursday
* Industry group NCC hands out planting survey Friday
* Market open interest up 8.7 pct last week

NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Cotton futures settled
marginally lower in the nearby month on Monday as the market
consolidated while awaiting release of a pair of reports at the
end of the week, analysts said.

Benchmark March cotton on ICE Futures U.S. slipped
0.03 cent to finish at 96.31 cents per lb, dealing from 95.90 to
97.26 cents. It was an inside day since the range was within
Friday's 94.12 to 97.86 cents band.

"It's holding up here well," said Mike Stevens, an
independent cotton analyst in Louisiana.

Traders said cotton market players were apparently waiting
for release of the U.S. Agriculture Department's monthly
supply/demand report on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT).

Stevens said the market will be looking for possible
reductions in U.S. 2011/12 cotton production. Other dealers
think there may also be adjustments in world consumption.

The trade is also looking forward to an annual survey by the
National Cotton Council on potential U.S. cotton plantings this
year.

A Thomson Reuters survey showed American farmers are
expected to reduce cotton plantings by some 10 percent to nearly
12 percent, to around 13.002 million-13.242 million hectares.
(Factbox on U.S. cotton plantings in 1998 to 2011:)

Open interest in cotton , an indicator of investor exposure
in the market, rose 8.71 percent on the week to 182,078 lots as
of Feb. 3, ICE Futures U.S. data showed.

Volume traded on Monday stood at over 24,400 lots, more than
two-thirds above the 30-day average, according to preliminary
Thomson Reuters data.