Nov 29 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors braced for a weekly exports sales report while persistent demand concerns dimmed the natural fiber's outlook.

* The second-month March contract CTc2 was flat at 79.77 cents per lb at 12:04 pm EST (1704 GMT).

* "We're still kind of boxed in between slow demand and the pessimistic outlook for global economies... We are probably in the sideways trend till some new information emerges," said Peter Egli, director of risk management at British merchant Plexus Cotton.

* The U.S Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report is due on Thursday.

* Egli added this week's export sales report might not be good, but it will most likely be decent as he sees China buying to continue.

* Last week's export sales report showed net sales of 322,200 running bales (RB) for 2023/2024, down 2% from last week and 6% from the prior 4-week average. But China accounted for nearly three-fourths of the net sales.

* The USDA report for last week also highlighted exports of 77,900 RB, at their lowest level in the 2023/2024 marketing year, down 31% from the previous week and 28% from the prior 4-week average. EXP/COT

* Elsewhere, heavy rain sweeping through southeastern Australia has damaged wheat crops. Although it hurts wheat, rain should boost Australian summer crops such as cotton and sorghum, analysts said.

* In the grain market, Chicago soybean futures edged higher as traders assessed the impact of hot and dry weather conditions in Brazil that are reducing yields in the world's top producer while wheat futures rose and corn was flat.

Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri