Jan 18 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures traded in a relatively narrow range on Thursday, as traders stayed on the sidelines ahead of the U.S Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales data.

* Cotton contracts for March CTc1 was little changed at 82.25 cents per lb by 11:12 a.m. ET (1612 GMT). Prices hit their highest since Dec. 11 in the previous session as market sentiment got a boost from stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales.

* "We are awaiting tomorrow's exports data, I think we will see a good shipment number," said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co, in Georgia.

* USDA's weekly export sales data is due on Friday, a day later than usual due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday on Jan. 15.

* Export data has stayed strong above 200,000 bales in the last four reports, hovering close to the marketing-year record of 231,000 bales hit in the week of Dec. 21. EXP/COT

* In other commodities market, oil prices extended gains while Chicago soybean and corn futures inched up but remained close to multi-year lows. O/R GRA/

* Higher oil prices makes cotton substitute polyester more expensive.

* "Both markets (crude and cotton) are closely monitoring the situation in the Red Sea with the shipping crisis and delays due to the attacks on ships. Fear of possible further disruption and added delays are adding costs as well," said Bailey Thomen, cotton risk management consultant at StoneX Group.

* The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are impacting a shipping route vital to East-West trade. Some shipping companies have instructed vessels to instead sail around southern Africa, a slower and, therefore, more expensive route.

* Elsewhere, China's agriculture ministry approved the domestic production of six more varieties of genetically modified corn, two of soybeans and one of cotton, and another two of gene-edited soybeans.

Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Sherin Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber