Cotton futures fell, capping the biggest weekly drop in more than four months, on signs that world supplies are outpacing demand.

Cotlook Ltd., the publisher of a benchmark cotton index, boosted its estimate for a global fiber surplus by 16 percent, citing higher output in China and India , the worldΆs top producers. The crop in the U.S., the worldΆs biggest exporter, was 38 percent harvested as of Oct. 21, up from 28 percent a week earlier, the Department of Agriculture said this week.

“Crop pressure builds both in the U.S. as well as in foreign growths, with India probably posing the biggest threat in that regard” Peter Egli, a Chicago-based director of risk management at Plexus Cotton Ltd., said in a report.

Cotton for December delivery slid 0.4 percent to settle at 72.42 cents a pound at 2:34 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York . The fiber fell 5.8 percent this week, the biggest weekly slump since June 1.
“There will be downward pressure on prices for the next couple of months,” as harvests progress around the world, Jon Devine, a senior economist for Cotton Inc. said in an interview in New York. “The biggest factor pressuring prices is the global surplus,” which could send prices to 65 cents if support at 70 cents is broken, he said.