NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Cotton futures settled easier Wednesday on
technically motivated investor sales, but the market held above its lows
for the week and analysts were uncertain about the next move in fiber
contracts.

The key December cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. fell 0.25
cent to close at $1.0499 per lb, moving from $1.0461 to $1.09.

Total volume hit almost 14,800 lots, over 5 percent above the 30-day
norm, Reuters data said.

Independent analyst Mike Stevens said the lower close was negative
given that December filled a gap that ended at $1.0888, but its close above
the Monday low of $1.0416 is supposed to be a positive sign.

'The jury is out on where we go next,' he said.

Traders said a sell-off in cotton would run into initial support around
$1.04 and then the psychological $1 level. The higher targets would be
$1.11 and $1.13, basis December.

Analysts said the threat posed by Hurricane Irene to cotton crops in
Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina did not appear to be severe.

The U.S. Agriculture Department's weekly crop progress report on Monday
showed 28 percent of Georgia's cotton bolls are open for the week ending
Aug. 21, and the figure for North Carolina is 22 percent only 7 percent for
South Carolina.

Torrential rain on open cotton bolls would badly affect cotton
quality.

But analysts like Stevens said that since most of the cotton plants are
still filling out and are not yet open, the rains may even help the crop
develop in those states.

The level of investor interest in the cotton market improved slightly
to hit 145,796 lots as of Aug. 23, over 5,000 lots above the 140,442 lots
on Aug. 11 which was then the lowest level in over two weeks, ICE Futures
U.S. data showed.

Total volume traded Tuesday hit 6,410 lots, the lowest level since
trading 5,895 lots on June 25, 2010, ICE Futures U.S. data showed.