By Julie Wernau

Cotton futures rose Tuesday for the second straight session as a government update on crop conditions showed a deteriorating U.S. crop.

Cotton for December delivery rose 0.8% to 68.81 cents a pound on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly update that 47% of the U.S. crop was in good or excellent condition as of the week ended Aug. 21 versus 48% the previous week and 53% a year earlier.

In both the high and low plains of Texas, the largest grower of cotton in the U.S., unirrigated cotton has been stressed by high temperatures and lack of moisture, according to WeatherBELL Analytics in New York.

The weather forecasting agency said showers, some heavy, are expected to increase over the next few weeks in both the mid-South and the High Plains but that the driest areas of the southeast will get less rain.

The Texas crop is rated at 25% poor to very poor condition, versus 18% for the country as a whole.