December cotton went up 0.35 to end at 52.79 cents a lb, with the contract moving from 53.45-52.30 cents. Spot October shed 0.09 to 50.09 cents. The rest were 0.38 cent steadier to 0.10 cent softer. "The trade brought us up early and then the specs took over," a cotton broker in Texas, the biggest cotton producer in the United States, said.

Memphis-based STA Trading Services said the trade were aggressive buyers at the start of business. The locals then ran with the trade as the market hit light stops on the way to its highs for the day, floor sources and cotton brokers said.

Once key December poked its nose above 53 cents, it got knocked back anew. "The market just ran into producer and trade selling above 53 cents. Cotton just couldn't hold the rally," a dealer said. One broker said cotton futures have been marking time while waiting for the US Congress tofinally approve funding to restart the Step 2 marketing program administered by the USDA to help cotton exporters here.