ICE cotton futures fell on Tuesday as concerns over lower demand from China and expectations of a slow recovery in apparel consumption canceled out early gains on plans to gradually ease the economy out of coronavirus-led lockdowns.

The cotton contract for July fell 0.39 cent, or 0.7%, at 53.94 cents per lb. as of 12:55 pm EDT (1655 GMT). It traded within a range of 53.65 and 55.33 cents a lb.

“There are a lot of questions on Chinese demand moving forward … without China buying US cotton. That could be a really bad thing, keeping the market in check," said Jack Scoville, vice president at Chicago-based Price Futures Group.

Escalating trade tensions with China, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday there was “a significant amount of evidence" that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory.

Global coronavirus-led restrictions and lockdowns have sapped demand, with cotton prices declining 23% so far this year.

“A lot of consumers have been really hurt by the stay-at-home orders and the loss of jobs so they've got to get back on their feet before they can start buying a whole lot of clothes," Scoville added.

Earlier in the session, cotton prices rose as much as 1.8%, helped by news that major economies worldwide and some US states will ease stay-at-home orders this week.

The US Agriculture Department's weekly crop progress report on Monday showed the cotton crop was 18% planted in the week ended May 3, slightly more than the five-year average of 17% reported for the same week.

Total futures market volume fell by 12,920 to 11,848 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 982 to 176,081 contracts in the previous session.

Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of May 4 totaled 3,579 480-lb bales, down from 3,727 in the previous session.-Reuters