Aug 1 (Reuters) - ICE cotton futures edged up on Tuesday, supported by concerns that heavy rains in top producer India could affect the natural fiber crop.

Rumors of a major U.S. investment bank issuing a buy recommendation for cotton may also have helped the market look past the improving prospects for U.S. production, INTL FCStone analyst Andy Ryan said in a note.

The December cotton contract on ICE Futures settled up 0.45 cent, or 0.65 percent, at 69.31 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 68.23 and 69.37 cents a lb.

"There have been excessive rains in India and weather may not be as good as people expected in the U.S.," said Gabriel Crivorot, analyst at Societe Generale in New York.

All cotton producing areas in India have been receiving adequate moisture so far but heavy showers could cause excessive moisture, Crivorot said. Rains have been 4 percent above average since the four-month monsoon season began in June, according to the state-run India Meteorological Department.

Federal data on Monday reported 56 percent of the U.S. cotton crop was in good to excellent condition, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier. "(Monday's) condition numbers did reflect a slight improvement for the overall 2017 crop... Yet, Texas (top cotton producing state in the U.S.) is suffering. Its poor/very poor categories jumped to a 20 percent level," said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co in Moultrie, Georgia.

Meanwhile, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) raised its outlook for cotton inventories for the 2017-18 crop year.

Total futures market volume fell by 432 to 18,825 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 365 to 216,428 contracts in the previous session. (Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; editing by Grant McCool)