April 11 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures slipped on Thursday, weighed down by lower weekly export sales data and a stronger dollar ahead of a monthly federal demand and supply report.

* Cotton contract for May CTc1 fell 0.87 cents, or about 1%, to 84.44 cents per lb by 11:32 a.m. ET (1532 GMT), after dropping to its lowest level since early January earlier in the session.

* The dollar index .DXY rose about 0.2% jumping to its highest since mid-November against its rivals, making the natural fibre more expensive for overseas buyers.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report showed net sales of 81,500 running bales for 2023/2024, down 4% from the previous week, and 10% from the prior 4-week average. EXP/COT

* The report also showed exports of 274,100 running bales, down 25% from the previous week and 23% from the prior 4-week average.

* "The open interest has been falling and you know that's a sign that the specs are cashing out," said Peter Egli, director of risk management at British merchant Plexus Cotton.

* "Right now we're in the spec long liquidation phase and once we're in the low 80s, I think the market will stabilize."

* Market participants are now awaiting the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report on Thursday.

Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore