Raw sugar steadies after sinking on bearish white sugar expiry

LONDON: Raw sugar futures steadied on Wednesday after sinking to a 1-1/2 month low the previous session as almost 800,000 tonnes of white sugar was delivered against the August contract when it expired.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar edged up 0.08 cents, or 0.7%, to 12.07 cents per lb at 1145 GMT, having touched its lowest since May 31 on Tuesday at 11.90.

* October white sugar was up $1.70, or 0.5%, at $316.00 a tonne. The August contract expired on Tuesday at a discount of $19.30 to October, indicating surplus supply and little demand for the sugar.

* A total of 793,350 tonnes of Thai white sugar was tendered against the August contract.

* "We're struggling to get rid of the stock build of last two surplus years," said a dealer, adding that the amount tendered and the low price suggested there was "plenty of stock overhang".

* In industry news, Brazil and India are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on production and trade of sugar-based biofuel ethanol this year, an industry group said.

* A second dealer said raw sugar "seems happy to remain around 12 cents with little desire for prices to drop too much more. However, upside also looks limited with large stocks and the threat of India looking to export up to 8 million tonnes next season."

COCOA

* September New York cocoa was down $9, or 0.4%, at $2,451 a tonne, having hit its lowest since early June at $2,391 on Tuesday.

* September London cocoa fell 9 pounds, or 0.5%, to 1,864 pounds a tonne.

* A total of 5,690 tonnes of Cameroonian cocoa was tendered against the ICE July London cocoa contract, which expired on Tuesday.

* Prices were pressured on Tuesday by disappointing data on cocoa grindings in Europe, an indicator of regional demand, although traders remain optimistic about grind data due this week for Asia and North America.

* Cocoa prices hit a one-year high last week ahead of a move by Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce about 60% of the world's cocoa, to introduce a new pricing system for their beans.

* The two African nations on Tuesday agreed to lift the suspension of cocoa sales for the 2020/21 season, put in place while the new pricing system was being hashed out.

COFFEE

* September arabica coffee was up 1.5 cents, or 1.4%, at $1.0700 per lb, having closed down 4.3% on Tuesday.

* Dealers continue to closely follow temperatures in top producer Brazil, with cool temperatures expected but the threat of frost appearing low.

* September robusta coffee was up $17, or 1.2%, at $1,418 a tonne.