July 18 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures extended gains on Tuesday as hot weather in key growing regions led to supply worries, while strength across wider financial and commodity markets also aided the natural fiber.
* The most-active December cotton contract CTz3 rose 0.38 cent to 82.51 cents per lb by 12:12 p.m. EDT (1612 GMT). It traded in a range of 81.68 and 83 cents a lb.
* The market is up a little bit as crop condition ratings showed signs of stress and increasingly bad conditions for the crop providing little fire for the market, said Jack Scoville, vice president at Chicago-based Price Futures Group.
* The U.S. Agriculture Department's (USDA) weekly crop progress report on Monday showed that 45% of U.S. cotton was in good-excellent condition versus 48% a week ago.
* Chicago wheat futures rose, supported by a Russian airstrike on the port of Odesa a day after Moscow suspended its participation in the grain export deal allowing Ukraine to ship grains via the Black Sea.
* Further lending support to cotton, the U.S. stock market gained, while the dollar held close to a one-year low. A weaker dollar makes the natural fiber more attractive for overseas buyers.
* China's agriculture ministry urged cotton growers in the world's top producer to irrigate and fertilise more to cope with scorching temperatures that have hit major growing areas during the critical flowering period.
* Elsewhere, in India, sowing of rice, cotton, oilseeds and pulses has gained momentum in the past fortnight after a slow start but plantings still lag last year's progress.
Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar