Robusta coffee futures slumped to a 5-1/2 year low on Monday as already ample supplies were boosted by strong exports from the world's second-biggest coffee producer Vietnam. London cocoa and white sugar futures both ended little changed in thin conditions as the US-based contract was shut for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Dealers said Vietnam had just finished harvesting a good crop and also had coffee left off from the prior season when farmers held back supplies hoping for a price rise that never materialised. "The carryover (stocks from last season) is big, the crop is big. There don't appear to be any supply issues," one London dealer said. Vietnam exported 152,000 tonnes (2.5 million 60-kg bags) of coffee in December, up 58.6 percent from the previous month, customs data showed on Monday, above market and government expectations.
Dealers said the pace of exports from Vietnam had remained strong this month as a weaker dong boosted returns in local currency.
March robusta coffee ended $21 or 1.5 percent lower at $1,420 a tonne. The second month had slid to a low of $1,415 in late trade, its lowest level since June 2010. Dealers said robusta coffee prices had also been weakened by widespread selling across commodities by investment funds. Speculators increased a net short position in robusta coffee in the week to January 12, exchange Commitment of Traders data showed on Monday. London cocoa futures were little changed with the market underpinned by a slowdown in Ivorian port arrivals.
Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast fell to around 43,000 tonnes between January 11 and January 17, down from about 64,000 tonnes a week earlier, exporters estimated on Monday. Dealers said the flow of cocoa from Ivory Coast could slow significantly in coming weeks following strong, dry Harmattan winds which can ruin small pods and sap moisture from the soil, reducing beans' size.
May London cocoa ended a marginal 1 pound higher at 2,117 pounds a tonne. White sugar futures eased slightly with March closing $0.40 or 0.1 percent lower at $426.80 per tonne. Dealers noted whites had outperformed raws during the last few days buoyed by Chinese demand and, in contrast to many other commodity markets, an increased fund appetite. Speculators increased a net long position in white sugar in the week to January 12, exchange data showed on Monday. CFTC data issued on Friday had speculators cutting a net position in raw sugar in the same period.
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