Oct 28 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures fell to their lowest level in over a month on Monday, hurt by a retreat in the grain and oil markets, while increasing harvest pressure further impacted the natural fiber.
* Cotton contracts for December CTZ4 fell 0.37 cent, or 0.5%, at 70.29 cents per lb at 11:37 a.m. ET (1537 GMT). The contract hit its lowest since Sept. 16.
* "The markets today are bearish, specifically crude, and cotton often goes the same direction as crude oil, plus the Chicago markets are also negative," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage, in Cleveland.
* "I would put this in the area of outside markets and harvest pressure," Rogers noted, adding that he sees the cotton market as being a range trade between 66 and 74 cents.
* A weekly crop progress report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected later in the day.
* Last week's data indicated that 44% of the cotton crop had been harvested by the week ending Oct. 20, up from 34% the previous week ending Oct. 13.
* Oil prices tumbled by around $4 a barrel on Monday after Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran at the weekend bypassed oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies. O/R
* Lower oil prices make cotton-substitute polyester less expensive.
* In the grains market, Chicago soybeans and corn fell as pressure from mounting supplies including an expanding U.S. harvest weighed on the market amid uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. election. GRA/
* Cotton speculators trimmed their net short position by 4,829 contracts to 32,017 in the week to Oct. 22.
Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore