July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Cotton dropped to a nine-month low on signs of slowing demand for supplies from the U.S., the world's biggest exporter. Orange juice advanced.

The Department of Agriculture lowered its outlook for U.S. cotton shipments to 12 million bales for the year that begins Aug. 1, down from last month's projection of 13 million. Exporters have had more canceled orders than sales in 14 of the past 15 weeks, government data show. Prices have tumbled 28 percent this year, the most among the 19 commodities tracked by the Thomson/Reuters Jefferies CRB Index.

"It seems like the market is focused on the demand aspect of things," said Louis Barbera, a broker with VIP Commodities in New York. Government data points to "the continued export cancellations and the slow pace of shipments. All this stuff rings bearish."

Cotton for December delivery dropped 4.49 cents, or 4.1 percent, to settle at $1.0439 a pound at 2:47 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the fiber dropped by the 5- cent exchange limit to $1.0388, the lowest since Oct. 7.

The fiber has plunged 52 percent since touching a record $2.197 in March as demand slumped in China, the world's biggest consumer. The USDA cut its outlook for the country's imports in the 2011-2012 season by 4.7 percent today. Consumption has slowed as the nation's central bank increased borrowing costs three times this year in a bid to cool growth and curb inflation.