Sept 9 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures fell on Monday, hurt by a stronger U.S. dollar and downbeat oil market, while traders closely monitored tropical storm Francine in the Atlantic for any weather impact in key growing areas.

* Cotton contracts for December CTZ4 fell 0.16 cent, or 0.24%, to 67.72 cents per lb at 11:15 p.m. EDT (1515 GMT), having hit its lowest level since Aug. 18 earlier in the session.

* "The dollar's up strongly, getting near the three-week high,"which is putting pressure on cotton prices, said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland.

* The dollar bounced back as investors looked ahead to U.S. inflation data due this week, after Friday's mixed payrolls report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will likely stick to a smaller interest-rate cut. USD/

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

* "On the other side is the weather, which is turned a little bit bullish. There's a tropical storm in the Gulf and it's pushing up into some of the states that have a lot of open cotton," Varner added.

* Tropical storm Francine has formed over the Louisiana coast and is expected to gain hurricane strength on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

* Wall Street's main indexes rose as investors were optimistic about soft landing prospects for the U.S. economy ahead of a crucial inflation report later in the week..N

* Oil was down, making cotton-substitute polyester less expensive. O/R

* Chicago wheat prices fell to a one-week low as the strong pace of exports from the Black Sea region kept the market on the defensive. GRA/

Reporting by Anjana Anil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas