Nov 30 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures edged up on Thursday supported by short covering, but were headed for a third consecutive monthly loss as overall demand remained lackluster for the natural fiber.

* The second-month March contract CTc2 was up 0.4% at 79.94 cents per lb at 12:43 pm EST (1743 GMT). The contract was down 4.3% so far this month.

* It is the end of the month so there is some short covering but cotton hasn't been a bull market since demand is not firm said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co, in Georgia.

* Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report showed net sales of 217,700 RB for 2023/2024 were down 32% from the previous week and 42% from the prior 4-week average. EXP/COT

* The USDA report also highlighted exports of 88,800 RB were up 14% from the previous week, but down 14% from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to China.

* Exports were not robust, but weren't terrible. China's been buying a lot of cotton from the U.S. over the last month as Australia faces bad weather but in the new year they may come back and cancel some of those, Brown added.

* Elsewhere, heavy rain sweeping through southeastern Australia has damaged wheat crops. Although it hurts wheat, rain should boost Australian summer crops such as cotton and sorghum, analysts said.

* In the grain market, Chicago wheat edged down with participants awaiting export data for an indication on demand for U.S. supplies. Soybeans eased as the oilseed market assessed forecasts in Brazil while corn was little changed.

Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber