Cotton futures rose on Friday to the highest in over six weeks, breaking through the key psychological level of 60.40 cents per pound on short covering, amid an outlook for tight supplies and an uptick in overall commodities.

"Fundamentals are bullish... there is a lack of tangible, high grade current crop, not just in the United States, but worldwide," said Peter Egli, director of risk management at British merchant Plexus Cotton.

The front month May contract on ICE Futures US has been trading higher than the July and December contracts for well over a month. A backwardation, with nearby prices at a premium to those further out, is often seen as a sign of tight nearby supplies.

* The front-month May contract on ICE Futures US settled up 1.04 cent, or 1.76 percent, at 60.07 cents per lb, after hitting 60.58 cents a lb, the highest level since Feb. 22. It ended the week up about 1.47 percent.

* Total futures market volume rose by 14,878 to 59,474 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 331 to 222,917 contracts in the previous session.

* The dollar index was down 0.27 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was up 2.52 percent.