May 24 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures were headed for their best week in over a year, as strong demand from top consumer China and firm export sales data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) capped the decline on Friday.
* Cotton contracts for July CTc1 fell 1.54 cents, or about 1.9%, to 80.18 cents per lb by 11:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT).
* "People are looking for better demand which they got in the export sales report yesterday ... China's been buying a little bit here and there, but they did buy pretty good amounts and we're hoping that continues," said Jack Scoville, vice president at Chicago-based Price Futures Group.
* But the contract retreated from more than a month's peak hit in the previous session ahead of a three-day holiday in the United States, as, Scoville said, "a lot of speculators are taking money and just going home for the weekend".
* USDA's weekly export sales report on Thursday showed both net sales and exports increased primarily for China. EXP/COT
* Net sales for 2023/24 for China were at 104,400 RB and for 2024/25, it was at 13,200 bales, data showed. Exports to China were around 84,600 bales.
* Cotton futures had climbed more than 3% on Thursday following the export sales data. COT/N
* Aiding cotton prices on Friday, Chicago wheat futures were headed towards their biggest weekly climb in a month as concerns over crop losses in the Black Sea region and other exporting countries supported prices, while corn futures and soybeans also strengthened. GRA/
Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar