Rahul Paswan
June 2 (Reuters)ICE cotton futures rose more than 3% on Thursday supported by buying from mills, upbeat market sentiment and a weaker dollar.
* Cotton contracts for July rose 4.09 cent, or 3.01%, to 140.15 cents per lb, 12:20 p.m. ET. It traded within a range of 134.12 and 140.35 cents a lb.
* "We see a lot of mills buying here," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland, Mississippi.
* Further aiding cotton, the U.S. dollar eased making cotton cheaper for overseas buyers.
* Cotton futures fell more than 2% on Wednesday as a stronger dollar and fall in wider commodities pressured the natural fiber.
* "The market is looking at some good chances for rain for mid-week. If rains fail to materialize, or if rainfall totals are light, we may be off to the races on (the December contract)," Louis Rose of Tennessee-based Rose Commodity Group wrote in a note.
* In the wider grains market, Chicago wheat and corn futures rose to recover from two-month lows as liquidation by investment funds abated and traders saw supply tensions persisting despite talks to reopen Ukrainian ports blocked since Russia's invasion.
* Oil prices were up after OPEC+ agreed to boost crude output to compensate for a drop in Russian production.
* Higher oil prices make polyester, a substitute for cotton, more expensive.
* Total futures market volume fell by 20,557 to 23,735 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 1,430 to 210,800 contracts in the previous session.
(Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)