By Julie Wernau

Cotton futures rose Thursday despite a U.S. Department of Agriculture report that indicated a boost in cotton plantings for the upcoming season.

Cotton for May, the most actively traded contract, rose 1.3% to end at 58.44 cents a pound on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange.

Cotton has struggled with a demand problem as China, once the largest buyer, pulls back on purchases and consumers increasingly turn to synthetic fibers. U.S. overseas cotton sales for the week ended March 24 were 86,400 bales, a 48% drop from the prior four-week average.

"Last week was lousy. This week was lousy," said John Robinson, cotton marketing economist at Texas A&M University in College Station. "We can't get a spike in export demand at 57 cents futures?"