Jan 19 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures rallied on Friday to their highest level in two-and-a-half months on robust export demand, after the U.S Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly sales data added to evidence of strong U.S. shipments.
* Cotton contracts for March CTc1 rose 1.43 cents, or 1.7%, to 83.94 cents per lb by 11:37 a.m. ET (1637 GMT), their highest since Oct. 30.
* Prices climbed as much as 2.7% to 84.72 cents a lb earlier in the session, and were on track to gain 3.2% in their best week in six.
* The USDA's weekly export sales report showed net sales of 420,000 running bales for 2023/2024 in the week ending Jan. 11, up 60% from the previous week and 85% from the prior four-week average. EXP/COT
* "They were the best sales in several weeks and sales have been good now for over two months and they continue to be good. Demand is better than expected from Asia," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland.
* Weekly exports also rose to 257,700 bales, their highest level in the 2023/2024 marketing year, and top cotton consumer China accounted for more than half of the net sales as well as exports.
* Shipments have set new records in three of the last five reports, and stayed strong above 200,000 bales in all five.
* Prices for the natural fibre also got a fillip from a slightly weaker U.S. dollar, even though it was overall higher on the week and made U.S. cotton more expensive for overseas buyers. USD/
* Elsewhere, Chicago soybean futures rose but were on track for a fifth consecutive weekly loss after dropping to a two-year low in the previous session due to expectations of plentiful supply, while corn and wheat futures were slightly higher. -
Reporting by Deep Vakil and Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber