ICE cotton futures edged lower on Monday, having slipped to a more than one-month low earlier in the session, weighed by growing fears about the spread of the coronavirus from China and its impact on global economy. Cotton contracts for March fell 0.22 cent, or 0.3%, at 69.18 cents per lb at 2:11 PM EST (1911 GMT).

Earlier in the session prices fell to 68 cents per lb, its lowest level since Dec. 23, 2019. “Market is seeing spill over of volatility (from stock markets) as investors fear of the coronavirus continue to grow … Investors are going to sidelines and taking a risk-off approach," said Jon Marcus, president of Lakefront Futures and Options brokerage in Chicago.

Level of 68 cents was appealing to investors looking for bargain-buying, Marcus added. The coronavirus outbreak in China has killed 81 people, stranded tens of millions during the biggest holiday of the year and rattled global markets.

A small number of cases linked to people who travelled from Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak, have been confirmed in more than 10 countries, including Thailand, France, Japan and the United States.

“ICE futures should experience resistance near 71.50-72.00 and then in 100-point intervals up to 75.00-76.00, basis March, over the near to medium-term … Relatively strong support likely resides near 68.00-68.50," Louis Rose, director of research and analytics at Tennessee-based Rose Commodity Group, said in a note.

Cotton speculators trimmed their net long position by 2,719 contracts to 15,300 in week to Jan. 21, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.

Total futures market volume rose by 21,808 to 50,623 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 3,338 to 263,299 contracts in the previous session. Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of Jan 24 totalled 6,792 480-lb bales, unchanged from 6,792 in the previous session.