NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Cotton futures closed
lower Tuesday on investor sales as the market declined for the
first time in four sessions, with most players waiting for leads
on its next move, analysts said.

The key March cotton futures on ICE Futures U.S. fell
1.19 cents, off by 1.2 percent, to settle at 98.18 cents per lb,
just above Monday's low of 98.06 cents. The contract had been on
a steady uptrend that began when it hit a 17-month low on Dec.
14.

Volume traded on Tuesday was about 19,500 lots, around a
quarter over the 30-day norm, according to Thomson Reuters data.
'Everyting is in place for a correction,' said Mike Stevens,
an independent cotton analyst in Mandeville, Louisiana.

But he said that every time cotton is ripe for a downward
correction, support emerges and pushes fiber futures back up.

'It (cotton) is resilient,' said Stevens.

Fundamentally, the market has derived strength from buying
by China, the world's leading consumer of cotton for its textile
and apparel industry.

Analysts said business may slow down this week as the
Chinese celebrate their New Year.

Other technical resistance targets for the March cotton
contract loom at 99.95 cents a lb, and then though the key $1
psychological level and then $1.02.

A close in the March contract below last Tuesday's low of
95.67 cents would likely lead to further losses leading down to
94, then 91 cents, analysts said.

Cotton's open interest - an indicator of investor exposure -
stood at 162,671 lots as of Jan. 23, up for a ninth session and
rising about 7 percent so far this year.