ICE robusta coffee futures touched a two-year high on Wednesday, as concerns of a global production deficit persisted and wet weather was expected to slow harvesting in top robusta producer Vietnam. Arabica and sugar on ICE Futures US fell under pressure from currency fluctuations, and cocoa advanced. After touching its highest level since October 2014 at $2,188, January robusta coffee settled unchanged from the previous session at $2,178 per tonne.
Dealers said the recent rally in robusta reflected strong market fundamentals, with falling production volumes in top robusta producers Vietnam, Brazil and Indonesia. "We're looking at a really large robusta deficit worldwide, so this (the rally) to some extent is justified," Rabobank analyst Carlos Mera said. He noted that the gains had a natural limit as stocks held by Vietnam were likely to be released onto the ICE exchange. A jump in Vietnamese coffee prices to three-year highs has boosted sales, but recent rains could delay next month's harvest, traders said.
Benchmark arabica coffee prices turned lower after hitting a fresh 20-month high as the Brazilian real fell against the dollar. Prices rallied 4 percent in the previous session amid fund-buying. The December contract settled down 0.8 cent, or 0.49 percent, at $1.637 per lb after peaking at $1.6575 per lb, the highest for the front month since February 2015.
Sugar prices retreated, languishing below four-year highs earlier this month, with investors looking for fresh impetus. ICE March raw sugar finished down 0.26 cent, or 1.13 percent, at 22.67 cents per lb. "The real was higher and then turned down hard. That's reason to sell" both coffee and sugar, said Jack Scoville, vice president with Price Futures Group in Chicago. The weakening real makes dollar-traded commodities more valuable in local currency terms, prompting selling by exporters.
ICE December white sugar closed down 70 cents, or 0.12 percent, at $595.70 per tonne. In cocoa, the ICE March New York contract settled up $22, or 0.83 percent, at $2,660 per tonne, on continued support from low exchange inventories even as harvesting and marketing of the October-to-march main crop ramped up in Ivory Coast, the world's top producer. Regular rain mixed with sun in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa-growing regions will help produce a longer and larger main crop than last year, farmers said on Monday, despite lingering damage due to disease. ICE March London cocoa settled up 4 pounds, or 0.18 percent, at 2,199 pounds per tonne.
Comments
Comments are closed.