Raw sugar futures on ICE were lower on Monday with the market back on the defensive after last week's short-covering rally, while arabica coffee turned lower after touching a 6-1/2-week high. October raw sugar settled down 0.21 cent, or 1.5 percent, at 14.09 cents per lb with the recent short-covering rally appearing to have run out of steam.
Prices stayed close to the 14-cent level as there was heavy open interest in the August options contract, which expired at the end of the session, one trader said. One trader said that prices fell on chart-based buying with the 50-day moving average around 14.56 cents pressuring prices.
"In Brazil, the focus will continue to be on sugar. And it becomes more negative the longer the price is around these levels," one dealer said, referring to the world's biggest sugar grower. October white sugar settled down $4.70, or 1.2 percent, at $394.30 per tonne.
ICE Futures Europe said 199,050 tonnes of white sugar had been tendered against the August contract that expired on Friday. September arabica coffee settled down 0.15 cent, or 0.11 percent, at $1.3355 per lb after climbing to a 6-1/2 week high of $1.35. Dealers said speculative selling continued to pressure prices as they held a large net short position.
September robusta coffee settled down $20, or 0.9 percent, at $2,126 per tonne. September New York cocoa settled down $5, or 0.3 percent, at $1,910 per tonne. Arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast were estimated by exporters at 1.9 million tonnes, with 18,000 tonnes delivered in the last week, higher than the year-ago figure.
"That could be why we're ultimately a little lower on the day, because of the higher arrivals," said Nick Gentile, managing partner of commodity trading advisor NickJen Capital. Crop weather appeared to improve in Ivory Coast with a mix of healthy rainfall and sunny spells last week, spurring flowers and pods, boosting the prospects for a strong start to the upcoming main crop, farmers said on Monday.
September London cocoa settled down 2 pounds, or 0.1 percent, at 1,507 pounds per tonne. A total of 101,610 tonnes of cocoa has been tendered against the ICE July London cocoa contract that expired on Friday, exchange data showed.
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