Cotton holds ground as focus turns to US supply-demand report

Jan 8 (Reuters) - ICE cotton futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors held back from making big bets ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) monthly supply-demand report.

* Cotton contracts for March CTc1 rose 0.07 cent, or 0.1%, to 68.58 cents per lb at 11:19 a.m. ET (1619 GMT).

* "We were lower early, but then we came back to unchanged, and I think that's just a reflection that we have some pretty important reports being released by USDA on Friday," said Jack Scoville, vice president at Price Futures Group.

* Focus will be on USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report due at 12:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

* The U.S. dollar rose for a second straight session on higher U.S. bond yields, following a report that President-elect Donald Trump was contemplating the use of emergency measures to allow for a new tariff program. USD/

* A stronger U.S. dollar makes cotton more expensive for overseas buyers.

* Cotton demand is going to be low for a while and prices might reach 71-72 cents and the overall low could possibly drop to around 65 cents, Scoville added.

* In the grains market, Chicago corn and wheat futures edged down while soybeans inched up as a rising dollar curbed U.S. prices and traders assessed rain chances in dry Argentina crop belts. GRA/

* Elsewhere, oil prices extended losses as the dollar strengthened and U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed larger-than-expected draw in crude stocks. O/R

* Lower oil prices make cotton-substitute polyester less expensive.

(Reporting by Anmol Choubey and Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

((anmol.choubey@thomsonreuters.com;))