Light speculative buying buoyed NYCE cotton futures to a higher close as Tropical Storm Josephine was poised to deluge an already soaked Southeast U.S. with more rain, industry sources said.

The storm, forecast to hit Florida Tuesday, could bring between two to five inches of rain to Georgia and the Carolinas.

"Most areas from northern Florida to Georgia to the Carolinas...will receive two to five inches (of rain)," Jon Davis, a meteorologist with Weather Services Corp, said.

But volume was estimated at only 6,000 lots as players remained cautious ahead of USDA's monthly supply and demand report, released Friday.

Players also awaited this week's import data due Wednesday, and export sales due to be released Thursday.

December cotton closed 0.92 cent higher at 77.65 cents a lb after trading from 77.74 to 76.90. Deferreds gained 0.83 to 0.30 cent.

--Suzanne Rostler, New York Commodities 212-859-1646