Dec 12 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures fell on Thursday, weighed down by a strong dollar and a federal weekly export sales report that highlighted less buying activity for the natural fiber.
* Cotton contracts for March CTc1 fell 0.1 cent, or 0.14%, at 70.05 cents per lb at 11:02 a.m. ET (1602 GMT).
* A poorer than expected export sales is kind of weighing on the market a bit today and a higher dollar is also adding a little bit of headwinds for cotton, said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management consultant at StoneX Group.
* The U.S. dollar .DXY rose 0.2%, hitting two-week high and making greenback-priced cotton more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. USD/
* The United States Department of Agriculture's weekly export sales report showed net sales of upland totaling 153,000 running bales (RB) for 2024/2025 were down 10% from the previous week and 37% from the prior four-week average. EXP/COT
* The report further showed export sales of 137,400 RB, down 13% from the previous week but unchanged from the prior four-week average.
* "We also see a little bit of selling pressure coming in more from the technical trading aspect, from speculators who have seen resistance coming in near the highs which is around 70.56 cents," Thomen added.
* Elsewhere, Chicago wheat futures inched up on Thursday due to uncertainties over Russian export supply, despite large crop harvests in Argentina and Australia, corn futures eased from a 5-1/2-month high, while soybeans edged higher. GRA/
Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi