Coffee rallies on concern over tightening supplies

NEW YORK/LONDON: ICE coffee futures in New York and London rallied on Tuesday, driven by worries over tightening supplies of exchange-deliverable arabica beans and fears that a coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam could hit robusta output.

COFFEE

September arabica coffee settled up 3.15 cents, or 2.7%, at $1.2105 per lb, the highest settlement price since April 15.

Coffee exports from Honduras, which accounts for three quarters of ICE certified stocks, fell 55% year on year in July due to reduced production.

Commerzbank said that falling exchange stocks were helping to drive arabica prices higher.

ICE coffee stocks fell to 1.588 million 60kg bags, the lowest level since August 2017.

Coffee company JDE Peet's said it would return to sales growth in the second half, having already seen signs in June that its out-of-home markets are starting to recover from lockdowns.

September robusta coffee settled up $53, or 3.9%, at $1,404 a tonne, just short of a 7-1/2 month peak.

Robusta is gaining support from a coronavirus outbreak in top producer Vietnam, which has led authorities to impose lockdowns in parts of the coffee-growing region.

SUGAR

October raw sugar settled up 0.06 cents, or 0.5%, at 12.78 cents per lb, its highest since March 10.

Dealers said a weaker dollar has driven fund buying across the commodities complex, including sugar. It was the fourth consecutive session of gains for raw sugar futures.

But abundant rains this week in Thailand, the world's second-largest sugar exporter, could ease concerns about falling output there, they said.

October white sugar settled down $0.60, or 0.2%, at $374.60 a tonne.

COCOA

December London cocoa settled down 5 pounds, or 0.3%, to 1,674 pounds per tonne, having touched its highest since June 30 at 1,686 pounds.

September New York cocoa settled down $20, or 0.8%, to $2,449 a tonne.