NEW YORK: ICE cotton futures fell on Thursday, as worries about a potential crop damage from Hurricane Sally decreased, while weaker exports further weighed on the prices of the natural fibre.

Cotton contracts for December fell 0.28 cent, or 0.4%, at 66.09 cents per lb by 12:34 p.m. EDT (1634 GMT). It traded within a range of 65.64 and 66.55 cents a lb.

"Hurricane Sally managed just thunderstorm and is off the front pages. We do look for some damage in cotton in extreme south Alabama and Florida panhandle but, all together, I don't think the damage will be significant," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland.

The natural fibre had jumped to its highest level since late February on Tuesday on crop damage concerns due to the hurricane. The remnants of hurricane Sally on Thursday, however, brought more than a foot of rain to Florida and Georgia, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report showed exports of 187,900 running bales (RB) in the week to Sept. 10, out of which 95,800 RB were shipped to China. However, exports were down 19% from the previous week and 38% from the prior 4-week average.

"The shipments were not very good, but they typically fall off this time of the year as the crop is harvested," Varner added.

Meanwhile, Wall Street's main indexes fell on Thursday after data showed weekly jobless claims held at high levels, pointing to the stalling economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Lingering concerns regarding the demand of cotton and apparel due to the coronavirus has pushed prices down by about 6% so far this year.