NEW YORK: Cotton prices rose on Monday, aided by a rally in equity markets, as President Donald Trump's signing of a long-awaited pandemic aid bill bolstered bets on an economic recovery and its likely fillip to demand for the natural fibre.

The cotton contract for March was up 0.17 cent, or 0.2%, at 76.37 cents per lb by 11:42 a.m. EST (1642 GMT). It traded within a range of 76.15 and 76.67 cents a lb.

"We are seeing positivity coming from broader stock markets today, especially after the Covid relief bill was signed over the weekend," said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management associate with StoneX Group.

"We are seeing mild activity in cotton today. The demand is pretty steady and the long-term trend to upside is still in place."

US President Donald Trump on Sunday signed into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a federal government shutdown in a crisis of his own making.

Total futures market volume fell by 3,555 to 4,909 lots.

Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of Dec. 23 totalled 77,326 480-lb bales, unchanged from 77,326 in the previous session.