May 11 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures slipped on Thursday as a stronger dollar and downbeat sentiment across wider markets outweighed relatively healthy U.S. weekly export figures.

* The most active first-month July cotton contract CTc2 fell 0.15 cents, or 0.2%, to 80.61 cents per lb by 1111 EDT (1511 GMT).

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) report showed net sales of 246,800 running bales (RB) of cotton for 2022/2023, up 7% from the previous week and 56% from the prior 4-week average. EXP/COT

* However, exports of 331,000 RB were down 20% from the previous week and 8% from the prior 4-week average.

* The report came in pretty solid and steady on the sales side, although there were a few cancellations, including to Turkey, said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management associate at StoneX Group.

* However, "it seems like we have a risk-off day across a lot of the external markets today and cotton was trading mostly sideways," with some selling in cotton as traders possibly exiting positions ahead of the WASDE report.

* The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) from the USDA is scheduled for release on May 12.

* Also pressuring cotton by making it more expensive, especially for overseas buyers, the dollar index .DXY advanced 0.5% USD/

* Further weighing on sentiment, was a retreat on Wall Street. .N

* Chicago grain futures were also trading in negative territory with soybean futures hitting a one-week low on rapid U.S. planting progress. GRA/

Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber