Nov 16 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures edged lower on Thursday as a retreat in oil prices overshadowed support from a strong weekly export sales report.
* The second-month March contract CTc2 fell 0.62 cent, or 0.8%, to 80.39 cents per lb at 11:52 EDT (1652 GMT).
* "Cotton is being pulled down a little bit because crude is down," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland.
* Oil prices fell more than $3 a barrel. Lower oil prices tend to subdue sentiment in cotton markets since they make polyester, a cotton substitute, less expensive. O/R
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report showed net sales of 328,300 RB for 2023/2024 were down 17% from the previous week, but up 18% from the prior 4-week average. Primary increases were for China.
* The report also highlighted that exports of 112,900 RB were up 25% from the previous week and 5% from the prior 4-week average. EXP/COT
* "I think the sales were widely known, the bigger part of the report is the lack of shipments, we're not shipping cotton," said Louis Barbera, partner and analyst at VLM Commodities.
* "Downstream demand for cotton is not good... China is only buying because they move it to their warehouse and they don't have to pay U.S. carry costs."
* Limiting losses, the dollar index .DXY fell 0.2%, making cotton less expensive for other currency holders. USD/
* In the grain market, soybean eased as forecasts of rain relief for crops in top exporter Brazil helped cool supply concerns while corn ticked down and wheat futures extended losses. GRA/
Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber