July 19 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures rose for a third straight session on Wednesday to hit their highest in nearly two months, helped by supply concerns due to hot and dry weather in the key growing regions.
* The most-active December cotton contract CTz3 rose 1.47 cents, or 1.8%, to 83.72 cents per lb by 11:28 a.m. EDT (1528 GMT). It traded in a range of 81.95 to 83.97 cents a lb with prices touching their highest since May 22.
* "Traders are closely watching the really dry and really hot temperatures expected next week and that's really driving the rally behind all the markets today, cotton included," said Bailey Thomen, risk management consultant at StoneX Group.
* Chicago grains futures gained supported by forecasts of dry weather in the U.S. Midwest and Russian air strikes on the Black Sea port of Odesa a day after Moscow quit the Ukrainian grain export deal. GRA/
* Also helping cotton, U.S. stock indexes and oil prices rose. Higher oil prices makes polyester, a cotton substitute, more expensive. .N O/R
* Traders also factored in that key buyer China will release cotton from state reserves in late July.
* China's agriculture ministry has urged cotton growers in the world's top producer to irrigate and fertilize more to cope with scorching temperatures that have hit major growing areas during the critical flowering period.
* The news could be a "positive factor for the U.S. market down the road if or when the reserve will restock their supplies after they have liquidated some," added Thomen.
* Focus now shifts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report due on Thursday.
* Last week, the USDA's report showed net sales of 23,100 running bales (RB) of cotton for 2022/2023, down 79% from the previous week and 76% from the prior 4-week average. EXP/COT
Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal