* Market players move positions out of May, into July
* Trade awaits monthly USDA supply data due Tuesday

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - Cotton futures settled higher
on Monday on speculative buying and switch business as players
stepped up their transfer of positions out of the spot contract
before it goes into delivery later this month, dealers said.
The U.S. cotton market was shut on Friday for the Easter
break.
The benchmark May cotton contract on the ICE Futures
U.S. exchange rose 0.94 cent to finish at 89.48 cents per lb,
dealing from 88.50 to 90.24 cents.
Monday's volume reached almost 32,200 lots, about a third
above the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Of the total, some 29,300 lots were May and July contracts.
Traders said that indicated the extent to which switch trade
served as the main feature of market activity.
Mike Stevens, an independent analyst in Louisiana, said fund
rollover of positions had dominated business.
"Spot May will stay in focus as first notice day is now only
11 sessions away. It has been pointed out that May open interest
is possibly dropping a bit slow given the active volume in that
contract. May options expire Friday so some of the positions may
be to offset option positions," Stevens said in a weekly report.
Traders said the market would be looking to a monthly
supply/demand report due on Tuesday from the U.S. Agriculture
Department to see whether the government would increase its
estimate of U.S. cotton exports.
Later in the week, the trade will examine the USDA's weekly
export sales report to gauge demand for U.S. cotton.
Open interest stood at 193,427 lots as of April 5, the
highest level since Feb. 15, 2011, ICE Futures U.S. exchange
data showed.