Jan 11 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures advanced on Thursday to a nearly one-month high, as a federal report showing a fourth straight week of robust U.S. exports countered pressure from a stronger dollar.
* Cotton contracts for March CTc1 rose 1.13 cents, or 1.4%, to 81.31 cents per lb by 12:45 p.m. ET (1745 GMT). Prices gained as much as 2.2% earlier to 91.95 cents, their highest since Dec. 14.
* "The cotton pipeline feels empty due to the conservative buying attitude from the mills across the world, with inventories running low. This could awaken pent-up demand," said Valentin Olah, risk management consultant at StoneX Group.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report showed shipments of 228,100 running bales in the week ending Jan. 4, while net sales for 2023/2024 doubled from the previous week to 262,500 bales. EXP/COT
* Exports have stayed strong above 200,000 bales in the last four reports, hovering close to the marketing-year record of 231,000 bales hit in the week of Dec. 21, which broke the prior week's record of 222,300 bales.
* "We have seen several healthy export sales reports showing U.S. on track to meet USDA's Export Estimates, with possibly a lower crop," Olah said, adding that "the fact that the dollar is higher and cotton is higher as well gives you more credibility that this rally has more potential to go to the upside."
* Limiting further gains in the natural fiber, the dollar edged 0.2% higher. A stronger greenback makes U.S. cotton more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. USD/
* Traders now awaited the USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, this year's first, due on Friday. USDA/EST
* Elsewhere, Chicago soybean futures regained some ground but remained near their lowest since December 2021 amid lacklustre demand for U.S. exports and an improved South American supply outlook. GRA/
Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru