May 21 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures rose on Tuesday, buoyed by concerns about persistent wet weather conditions and its impact on crop planting progress.
* Cotton contracts for July CTc1 rose 0.4 cent, or 0.5%, to 76.47 cents per lb by 12:45 p.m. ET (1645 GMT).
* The contract is unlikely to see much movement in prices unless there's a rally and it closes above the 77 cent level, said Jim Nunn, owner of Tennessee-based cotton brokerage Nunn Cotton, adding that "it looks like there's good support for us at 73-80 cents...but there's just not much going on."
* "Farmers are nearing or have passed the insurance cut-off dates, so people are looking at making decisions on whether to keep planting (cotton) or take preventive planting insurance and plant soybeans in the area," Nunn said.
* Crop insurance can provide an effective means of managing risk in cotton production. Insurance cut-off prevents the reinsurer from being liable for claims after the contract termination date.
* Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar struggled for direction as investors stuck to their views on the expected timing of Federal Reserve monetary easing this year.
* In other agricultural markets, Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures reached their highest level since July as frost damage in top exporter Russia supported prices, traders said. GRA/
* Traders now await the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s weekly export sales report on Thursday for further clues on the demand outlook.
* "If you look at the export reports, we see solid numbers still going forward on new sales," Nunn said.
Reporting by Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Ravi Prakash Kumar