Cotton fell for the first time in six sessions, dropping from a 15-year high, as U.S. growers harvest a crop projected to be 55 percent bigger than last year.

Cotton yields in the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, will average 841 pounds per acre, up 8.2 percent from 2009, the Department of Agriculture said last week. A quarter of the crop had been picked as of Oct. 3 and progress will be updated today. Before today, futures surged 75 percent in 12 months on concerns that global demand would outpace shrinking supply.

“The cotton is coming in,” said Peter Egli, the director of risk management in Chicago for Plexus Cotton Ltd. “It just does not make sense to keep on rallying through the harvest.”

Cotton for December delivery fell 1.07 cents, or 1 percent, to $1.0943 a pound at 11:31 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the price rose to $1.1238, the highest level for a most-active contract since June 19, 1995.

Futures rose for five straight sessions before today, the longest rally since late July.

“We may just take a breather here and resume the uptrend,” Egli said.

U.S. output will total 18.87 million bales, up from the 18.84 million projected in September, the USDA said last week. Exports will reach 15.5 million bales in the marketing year that ends July 31, up 29 percent from 12 million in the previous year, the agency said.

A bale weighs 480 pounds, or 218 kilograms.

The Cotlook A Index, which reflects the average of the five cheapest cotton prices offered at Far East ports, rose to a record $1.252 a pound today, industry researcher Cotlook Ltd. said.