By Carolyn Cui 
 

Cotton edged down Monday, as the market's recent robust performance prompted worries that more acreage will be devoted to cotton plantation next year.

Cotton futures for May delivery fell 0.6% to 77.02 cents a pound on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange.

Some speculators who had flocked into the cotton market early this year were seen to be exiting ahead of the release of USDA's prospective planting report. The report, which is scheduled to be out on March 31, is expected to show an increase of cotton acreage for the next crop year.

On average, traders and analysts expect the government to revise up the planting projection to 11.9 million acres from its initial projection of 11.5 million.

On Monday, concerns over a larger crop next year sapped enthusiasm for strong overseas demand for U.S.-grown fiber. As of March 16, total export sales already reached 7.5 million bales, running 76% ahead of the same period last year.

So far this year, futures have been rising on robust demand for U.S. cotton, fueled by a 45% decline in Brazilian exports this year after strong sales a year earlier, as well as fears of a trade war that have resulted in aggressive buying from major cotton importers in Asia.

In other markets, raw sugar for May fell 0.7% to 17.58 cents a pound, while cocoa for May was up 0.8% to $2,149 a ton. Arabica coffee for May delivery lost 0.3% to $1.3710 a pound, and frozen concentrated orange-juice futures for May fell 4.6% to $1.7205 a pound.

Write to Carolyn Cui at carolyn.cui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 27, 2017 11:28 ET (15:28 GMT)

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