ICE raw sugar and arabica futures edged up on Thursday, with a firmer dollar capping gains, while strength in the white sugar premium signalled strong physical demand for refined sugar. ICE cocoa extended losses, as the market digested comments by the head of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) to Reuters Insider that global output was set to rise sharply next season in response to a rally in prices, dealers said.
-- ICCO chief sees global cocoa output up 6pc
ICE July raw sugar was up 0.13 cent or 0.9 percent at 14.80 cents a lb at 1435 GMT. London August white sugar was up $2.50 or 0.5 percent to $473.50 per tonne.
ICE July arabica coffee was up 0.45 cent or 0.3 percent at $1.3730 per lb. Liffe July robusta coffee was down $1 or 0.07 percent to $1,407 per tonne. Dealers noted the London May cocoa contract expires on Thursday. July cocoa on ICE was down $50 or 1.7 percent at $2,922 a tonne. July cocoa on Liffe was down 23 pounds or 1 percent at 2,264 pounds a tonne.
ICE arabica coffee futures inched up in light volumes, while London robustas dipped, caught between origin selling which is weighing on the market, and falling certified stocks. Certified stocks have not yet reached alarmingly low levels, a London-based broker said. However, the trade will be keeping a close eye on the rate at which they are drawn down in the coming months.
Cocoa corrected lower in the past week, after surging on last month's stronger-than-expected first-quarter North American grind data, a measure of demand. Robusta coffee was little changed in light dealings. Raw sugar inched up, trading above last Friday's one-year low. However, ample short-term supplies of raw sugar are expected to limit upside price potential. Analysts anticipate record cane production in the centre-south of Brazil, the world's main producing area.
Favourable weather in Brazil and an improving crop outlook in top consumer India, the world's number 2 producer, had contributed to the weakness in sugar. Last Friday, raw sugar posted an unprecedented 12th weekly loss, weighed down by expectations of large supplies of the sweetener and worries over eurozone debt, in a correction from a 29-year peak of 30.4 cents a lb on February 1. Dealers talked of Chinese cash demand for raw sugar. They also noted strength in white sugar prices and the whites-over-raws sugar premium due to a lack of supply, with strong demand expected from Pakistan, India and Mexico.
ICE cocoa futures extended losses after Jan Vingerhoets, Executive Director of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), forecast a 6 percent rise in global output next season. The ICCO revised its 2009/10 deficit estimate sharply higher due to stronger-than-expected demand, Vingerhoets told Reuters Insider television.
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