NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) – ICE cotton futures gained on Tuesday as forecasts of rain in Texas stoked worries over crop damage in the United States, the worldΆs largest exporter, at a key stage of development. Rains were forecast for Wednesday and Thursday in major growing regions in Texas, the countryΆs top producing state.

The wet weather could hit at a time when the vast majority of the cropΆs bolls are open, leaving the plants highly susceptible to damage, traders said. That lifted prices even as worries linger over demand and mill buying remained weak near the key 64-cent level.

The cotton contract for December on ICE Futures U.S. CToi1 settled up 0.54 cent, a 0.9 percent gain, at 63.78 cents per pound.

Certificated cotton stocks CERT-COT-STX deliverable as of Oct. 19 totaled 43,409 480-lb bales, up from 43,319 in the previous session.

The dollar index .DXY was down 0.07 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index .TRJCRB , which tracks 19 commodities, was up 0.35 percent.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Marguerita Choy)