Dec 13 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures fell nearly 1% on Friday and were headed for a second straight weekly loss weighed down by a strong dollar while focus returned to concerns about demand for the natural fiber from top buyer China.
* Cotton contracts for March CTc1 fell 0.62 cent, or 0.9%, to 69.47 cents per lb at 11:25 a.m. ET (1625 GMT).
* One factor weighing on cotton prices is the strong U.S. dollar, said Jim Nunn, owner of Tennessee-based cotton brokerage Nunn Cotton.
* The U.S. dollar .DXY rose 0.1%, hitting an over two-week high and headed for a weekly gain of 0.8%, making greenback-priced cotton more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. USD/
* Nunn added, "China's not going to be a buyer of any consequence... Lots of concerns about the economic situation in China, they're having deflation over there and they're trying to kick off some stimulus programs to get their economy back on the road again," which has been adding to the pressure on prices.
Top cotton consumer China pledged that it will adopt an "appropriately loose" monetary policy next year.
"We might not see much activity in the cotton market during the week of Christmas, after the holiday, or even into January. One concern weighing on people is the lack of shipments. We have some sales, but the shipments just aren't happening," Nunn said.
* The United States Department of Agriculture's weekly export sales report on Thursday 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.
* Elsewhere, Chicago corn futures ticked lower on dollar strength and disappointing weekly U.S. export sales, wheat eased further from a two-week peak earlier in the week, while soybeans also edged down. GRA/
Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas