Cotton moves lower on strong dollar, weak grains market

Sept 24 (Reuters) - ICE cotton futures fell on Wednesday, weighed down by a stronger dollar, while weakness in the grains market also spilled over into the natural fibre.

* Cotton contracts for December CTZ5 fell 0.38 cents, or 0.6%, to 66.26 cents per lb at 11:25 a.m. ET (1525 GMT).

* The U.S. dollar index =USD rose 0.6% after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a cautious tone and offered no new clues on further easing on Tuesday.

* The dollar is weighing on prices as it offsets lower New York prices by devaluing foreign currencies, thus encouraging farmer fixations, said Valentin Olah, a risk management consultant at StoneX.

* "Chicago grains peers trade in the reds, we aren't seeing much willing buyers neither from the fundamental nor the speculative front," Olah said.

* Chicago soybeans fell back towards a six-week low as rising estimates of the amount of Argentine soy booked by Chinese buyers this week kept attention on stalled U.S.-China trade while corn edged down. GRA/

* Markets are awaiting U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly cotton export sales data report due on Thursday to gauge the demand prospects from the natural fibre.

* Last week, USDA's weekly export sales report showed exports of upland cotton for the week ended September 11 were down 8% from the previous week and the prior four-week average.

* The USDA, in a weekly crop progress report on Monday, said 60% of the cotton was planted in the week ended September 21, compared with 50% the week before. US/COT

* In oil markets, prices rose over 1% after an industry report showed U.S. crude inventories declined last week, adding to concerns of tighter supplies. O/R

* Higher oil prices make cotton-alternative polyester more expensive, making cotton more attractive for buyers.