Robusta coffee hits new 7-1/2 month top, arabica jumps

NEW YORK/LONDON: Robusta coffee hit a fresh 7-1/2 month peak Thursday on worries supplies could be hit by a new coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam, the world's top producer of the bean, while arabica coffee surged more than 3%.

COFFEE

September robusta coffee closed little changed at $1,340 a tonne after hitting a 7-1/2 month peak of $1,381 earlier in the session.

Vietnam is scrambling to contain a fresh coronavirus outbreak with new cases reported in six cities and provinces in the past week.

Domestic coffee prices in Vietnam edged up this week due to tight supplies at the end of the season and the government's social distancing order in parts of the coffee-growing region.

Dealers said demand for robusta has been healthy, as the variety is widely used to make instant coffee, a type mostly consumed at home.

September arabica coffee rose 3.75 cents to $1.1535 per lb, having hit its highest since mid-April.

Arabica is benefiting from a strengthening Brazilian real and concerns that lockdowns and low prices could hurt Central American output.

SUGAR

October raw sugar rose 0.10 cents to 12.11 cents per lb, after peaking at 12.27 cents on Tuesday, the highest since July 8.

Dealers said sugar was benefitting from worries over falling output in Thailand, the world's second largest sugar exporter.

Sugar sales in Europe have been gradually returning to levels anticipated before the COVID-19 outbreak, French sugar group Tereos said.

October white sugar rose $3.20 to $368.20 a tonne.

COCOA

December London cocoa rose 6 pounds to 1,617 pounds per tonne, having hit a one-month top of 1,640 earlier in the session.

Cocoa is consolidating after hitting a near two-year low in mid-July, though fundamentals remain weak.

September New York cocoa rose $3 to $2,344 a tonne.