World long-staple cotton production will outpace consumption by 130,000 metric tons in the 2011-12 marketing year, keeping pressure on prices, Cotlook said.

Global output of long-staple varieties is expected to total 639,000 tons in the period, the researcher said in a report today. Long-staple cottons account for about 2.5 percent of total world production of the fiber and are used to make luxury items, according to the report.

“This seasonΆs and last seasonΆs surpluses combined more than offset the sharp deficit that accumulated in 2008-09 and 2009-10, which was accompanied by record high prices,” Cotlook said. “The implication is that prices will stay under downward pressure in the immediate future.”

Cotton for March delivery traded recently at 92.80 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Prices are down 36 percent in 2011 after almost tripling in the prior two years.

The global surplus of long-staple cotton at the end of 2010-11 was about 33,000 tons as higher prices cut demand, Cotlook said.