NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Cotton futures finished
sharply lower on Monday on spread-inspired investor liquidation
and the market could probe the lower end of its trading band in
the days ahead, analysts said.

The key December cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S.
lost 1.58 cents to end at $1.0036 per lb, trading from 99.89
cents to $1.0248. The market has traded in a range from 98
cents to $1.04 for more than three weeks.

Total volume traded on Monday hit more than 17,800 lots,
over a third above the 30-day norm, preliminary Thomson Reuters
data showed.

Mike Stevens, an independent analyst in Mandeville,
Louisiana, said cotton came under pressure from merchants and
producers offering the fiber on a spot basis.

Traders said selling of the spread between the December and
March cotton contracts likewise added pressure.

'It sure is shaky here at the bottom,' said Stevens, adding
the December contract may test the 98-cent area and possibly
break below that.

The market cautiously monitored a fall in U.S. and European
stocks after Germany dashed hopes of progress in resolving the
euro zone debt crisis at next Sunday's summit of European
leaders.

The trade will now be looking toward the U.S. Agriculture
Department's weekly crop progress report, due at 4 p.m. EDT
(2000 GMT).

Open interest in cotton, usually taken as an indicator of
investor exposure, stood at 154,997 lots as of Oct. 14, from
153,893 lots on Oct. 13, the exchange said.

Volume traded on Friday in the cotton market reached 11,905
lots, against the prior tally of 14,489 lots, ICE Futures U.S.
data showed.