ICE cotton futures fell for a third day in a row on Friday to mark their worst week in six, hurt by demand concerns and rains in key growing regions.

* Cotton contracts for July (CTc1) fell 0.78 cent, or 1%, to 76.98 cents per lb by 11:56 a.m. ET (1556 GMT). It traded in a range of 76.11 and 78.83 cents per lb.

* Cotton was en route for its worst week since the week of April 19, and headed for a monthly decline of about 0.9%.

* "In a bear market, you sell rallies… the mood I think is still bearish and we've had some rain in west Texas, which is negative and pushes the market down," said Jim Nunn, owner of Tennessee-based cotton brokerage Nunn Cotton.

* Rainfall in key cotton-growing areas could lead to a rise in the supply of the natural fiber.

* "Demand right now doesn't look too sporty. I think some of these foreign markets are having problems with getting financing to pay for this cotton," Nunn added.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly report showed exports of 172,200 running bales (RB), down 16% from last week and 21% from the prior four-week average.

* The primary destination for exports was top consumer China, with 52,500 RB.

* The report also showed net sales totalling 222,600 RB for 2023-24 and 78,100 RB for 2024-25.