NEW YORK: ICE cotton futures edged up on Tuesday drawing support from a weaker dollar though forecasts for rain in the top-producing West Texas region capped gains.

Cotton contracts for July rose 0.26 cent, or 0.3% to 83.08 cents per lb by 12:11 pm EDT (1611 GMT). It traded within a range of 82.4 and 83.53 cents a lb.

The dollar hit its lowest in over four months, making greenback-denominated cotton cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

The US Department of Agriculture’s weekly crop progress report released on Monday showed that 49% of the cotton crop was planted by the week ended May 23. That compares with a five-year average of 52%.

Total futures market volume fell by 905 to 15,497 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 107 to 221,800 contracts in the previous session.

Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of May 24 totalled 136,192 480-lb bales, up from 131,061 in the previous session.