* Early speculator sales nudge fiber contracts lower
* Trade/consumer support lifts cotton late

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. cotton futures
settled slightly firmer on Friday on late trade and consumer
buying in a market that remained fundamentally bearish, analysts
said.
The benchmark May contract on ICE Futures U.S. rose
0.14 cent to finish at 87.48 cents per lb, dealing from 87 to
88.17 cents. The 117 point range was smaller than the 119 point
band seen in Thursday's 87.07 to 88.26 cents range.
For the week, the market was down 1.5 percent.
Volume traded came to over 13,000 lots, over 50 percent
under the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Technically, the May contract slipped one tick under the
March 12 intraday low at 87.01 cents, but this area of 87 cents
has held in cotton since late December 2011.
"The bears have a good grip on this thing," said Mike
Stevens, an independent analyst in Louisiana.
He was referring to a world cotton supply balance that is
notably bearish. The U.S. Agriculture Department monthly supply
report last week increased its world 2011/12 cotton production
forecast to 123.64 million 480-lb bales from 123.34 million, and
cut its projection of world consumption to 108.72 million bales
from 109.71 million.
It raised its forecast of world end-of-season stocks to
62.32 million from 60.77 million bales. The 2011/12 marketing
year ends on July 31.
But every time cotton would be ready to drop, trade and mill
buying would show up to lift fiber contracts.
"There is demand all the way down and that is keeping it
(cotton futures) from falling apart," explained Stevens.
The fiber trade is now waiting for news from India, which is
prohibiting fresh cotton exports. India is the
world's No. 2 cotton producer and the biggest exporter after the
United States.
In two weeks, the market will be looking at the USDA's
annual potential plantings report, which will set the table by
providing a baseline figure for U.S. cotton sowings in 2012.