April 5 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures edged up on Wednesday from a one-week low hit in the previous session, as investors covered short positions ahead of the export sales data due later this week.

* Cotton contracts for May CTK3 rose 0.33 cents, or 0.4%, to 81.38 cents per lb by 11:49 a.m. EDT (1549 GMT). Prices hit their lowest since March 28 at 80.22 cents on Tuesday.

* "Cotton is in a lazy trade" as the market is headed for the long holiday weekend ahead, said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co in Georgia.

* There's some support coming into the cotton market by speculators, Brown added.

* Traders now await the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) export sales report due on Thursday.

* Last week the USDA's report showed net sales of 281,300 running bales (RB). EXP/COT

* Oil prices held broadly stable while world stocks stumbled as the market weighed worsening economic prospects. O/R MKTS/GLOB

* Higher oil prices make polyester, a cotton substitute, more expensive.

* Chicago wheat, corn and soybean futures eased again as weather for U.S. spring planting was forecast to improve in the coming days, analysts said.

* The dollar index .DXY held near two-month lows after weak data supported the view that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise rates much further. A higher dollar makes cotton more expensive for overseas buyers. USD/

Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich