NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - U.S. cotton futures crumbled
to a weak close on Tuesday as investors liquidated amid a broad
sell-off in the commodity markets, and the bearish momentum
could continue in the days ahead, analysts said.

The key May cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. dove
4.85 cents to settle at $1.9973 per lb, trading from $1.976 to
$2.0608. The new-crop December cotton contract declined
3.62 cents to close at $1.3556.

Total volume traded in the cotton market was around 30,500
lots, about a fifth above the 30-day norm, Thomson Reuters
preliminary data showed.

Goldman Sachs, a long-term commodity bull, sparked the
selling spree when it warned that speculators had pushed crude
oil prices ahead of fundamentals.

'This is a money break (caused by) aggravated uncertainty,'
said Keith Brown, president of commodity firm Keith Brown and
Co in Moultrie, Georgia.

He said a nuclear emergency in Japan, unrest in Libya, and
the Goldman announcement tilted sentiment in favor of market
bears who then proceeded to dump commodities.

'It's poor (market) psychology,' said Brown, adding the
trading had nothing to do with cotton's fundamentals.

The market will look for direction when President Barack
Obama speaks Wednesday to lay out his approach in reducing the
nation's debt.

Open interest in the cotton market stood at 198,426 lots as
of April 11, just shy of the two-month peak of 200,051 lots hit
last week, which is the highest since Feb. 10, data from ICE
Futures U.S. showed.

The market has already digested USDA's estimate of U.S.
cotton sowings and players are keeping an eye on the near
drought conditions in the top growing area of Texas, which is
expected to plant about half of the U.S. cotton crop.

Players took note of news that Monsanto's director of
marketing for agriculture in the southern United States, David
Rhylander, predicted that the USDA estimate of U.S. cotton
sowings of 12.566 million acres should increase given high
cotton prices.