April 24 (Reuters) - ICE cotton futures settled at a more than one-week low on Wednesday as rain in top producing state Texas was perceived as favorable to plantation of the natural fiber crop.

* The most-active cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. July

settled down 0.79 cent, or 1.01 percent, at 77.12 cents per lb.

* It traded within a range of 77.05 and 77.93 cents a lb.

* “Rain in West Texas is weighing on prices,” said Jim Nunn, owner of Tennessee cotton brokerage Nunn Cotton.

* “The top soil moisture had dried out. In the past three weeks, it has started getting some rain. Farmers are looking to get this moisture to build up the soil profile.”

* Rains are often favorable ahead of planting, especially in top producing state Texas.

* The dollar, as measured against six other currencies, was at its highest level since June 2017, making the natural fiber more expensive for participants trading in other currencies.

* “Cotton prices are below the 20-day moving average (around 78.13 cents) and will probably test the 150-day moving average (currently around 76.85),” Nunn added.

* Investors will look out for the USDA’s weekly export sales report to be released on Thursday.

* Total futures market volume fell by 10,346 to 25,905 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 2,405 to 213,717 contracts in the previous session.

* Certificated cotton stocks <CERT-COT-STX> deliverable as of April 23 totaled 61,300 480-lb bales, up from 61,110 in the previous session.

* Outside the United States, Ivory Coast cotton output for the 2019/20 season is forecast to be 500,000 tonnes, up from about 430,000 tonnes the previous season, the cotton ginners association said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Karthika Suresh Namboothiri in Bengaluru Editing by Leslie Adler)