* Climbs to overbought territory prompt selling
* Cotton seen as technically strong, closes above 200-day MA
* Weekly U.S. export date due on Friday
NEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Cotton futures eased on Thursday, under pressure from technically-driven selling after prices touched overbought conditions and hovered below Tuesday's near three-month high.
The most-active March cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. closed down 0.6 cent, or 0.7 percent, at 84.04 cents a lb.
Spot prices hovered under Tuesday's high of 85.29 cents a lb, the strongest level since early October.
Even so, the March contract was seen as technically strong as it closed above its 200-day moving average for a third straight session.
Volumes were below average following a delayed opening at 8 a.m. EST following the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.
Price dips stirred buying throughout the session and kept fiber within a narrow trading range of about 1.5 cents.
"We've tested this 85-cent level, and the buying comes back to bleed off this overbought condition," said Sharon Johnson, a cotton specialist with KCG Futures in Chicago.
Spot prices finished 2013 up 13 percent as speculators renewed their interest in fiber, even as the broader commodities sector sold off and money flowed toward equities.
Earlier in the year, speculators had boosted their bullish stance in fiber to a five-year high, betting that demand in top consumer China would offset global oversupply.
Weekly U.S. government export data was delayed until Friday, following the holiday.
The weekly sales data has been strong, especially as March prices have run up from a November trough of 76.65 cents a lb.
Turkey has surpassed China as the No. 1 buyer of U.S. cotton so far in the 2013/14 season, as mills there benefit from strong demand in Europe and China's mills boost imports of yarn.
Traders eyed more news from Beijing as the country plans to overhaul its stockpiling program and move to subsidies for corn and soy.
"It puts a wet blank on bullish moves," said Dr. Louis W. Rose of Risk Analytics. (Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Bernard Orr)
