July 12 (Reuters) -Cotton futures climbed on Friday aided by weaker dollar and strength in equities market despite a supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed higher cotton production in the country for 2024/25.

* Cotton contracts for December CTZ4 rose 0.51 cent, or 0.7%, at 71.38 cents per lb at 1753 GMT. The contracts were headed for a weekly gain and gained about 0.3% so far this week.

* "I think the market has absorbed this (WASDE) report... (and) 70 cents is cheap enough, I would think the market could make a recovery based on near-termweather forecast," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland.

* The U.S. dollar index .DXY fell 0.3% and hit its lowest since June 7 earlier in the session, making cotton cheaper for overseas buyers.

* Supporting the natural fiber, the global equities index rose as investors eyed U.S. interest-rate cuts and the U.S. earnings season kicked off. .N MKTS/GLOB

* "The July U.S. cotton projections for 2024/25 show higher acreage, production, and beginning and ending stocks compared to last month," according to the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report.

* The forecast for global production was raised to 1.1 million bales to 120.2 million, as per the report.

* Global consumption stood at 250,000 bales higher, with increases in India and Malaysia offsetting reductions elsewhere.

* "Revisions to the 2023/24 U.S. cotton balance sheet include a 200,000-bale reduction in exports to 11.6 million based on the slowing pace of export shipments and a corresponding 200,000-bale increase in ending stocks," the report showed.

* The weekly export data from the USDA on Thursday showed exports at 160,700 running bales (RB), down 9% from last week.

Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid