Arabica coffee futures on ICE inched up on technical trade after hitting the weakest level in nearly four years, although they remained under pressure from a weak Brazilian real and expectations of hefty supplies. ICE raw sugar futures fell during heavy trading, and ICE cocoa futures edged down. September arabica coffee futures on ICE Futures US finished up 0.25 cent, or 0.2 percent, at $1.2350 per lb.
An earlier dip to $1.2215 per lb, the lowest level since September 2009, prompted limited short covering, dealers said. "This is more of the stair-step decline we're having. There's no reason to plunge, even though the bearish fundamentals are really taking hold," said James Cordier, principal and founder of Optionsellers.com.
Ample supplies have pushed prices to the recent lows and are expected to keep them under pressure as top grower Brazil harvests a bumper off-year crop in its biennial cycle. "Every time the market drops, the real weakens, so the Brazilians are no worse off," a London-based broker said.
September robusta coffee futures on Liffe were down $1, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $1,763 a tonne. July raw sugar on ICE fell 0.17 cent, or 1 percent, to close at 16.76 cents per lb. Producer selling weighed on prices in top grower Brazil, where output has surged and prompted expectations of another year of surplus. "Producers are still ready sellers on rallies, especially those whose currencies are depreciating against the US dollar," Nick Penney of brokerage Sucden Financial said, referring to the weaker Brazilian currency.
Sugar posted gains during a short-covering rally on Friday after the front month slipped to an almost three-year low of 16.17 cents during the previous session. "The sugar market is pretty well supplied, so we don't think this is the beginning of a turnaround. Probably most of the correction is behind us," Credit Suisse's analyst Tobias Merath said. August white sugar on Liffe fell $2.60, or 0.5 percent, to close at $489.40 a tonne.
September cocoa futures on ICE closed down $5, or 0.2 percent, at $2,210 a tonne. The descent was seen slowing as ICE cocoa prices approached technical support near the $2,200 per tonne level. The July/September spread spiked to $49 per tonne, up from $6 per tonne during the previous session and a discount last week. September cocoa on Liffe finished unchanged at 1,452 pounds a tonne.
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