Liffe October white sugar futures ended $2.10 lower at $532.60 per tonne on Wednesday. Bearish influences included a stronger dollar and easing port congestion in Brazil. Liffe December cocoa ended 22 pounds lower at 2,029 pounds a tonne, weighed partly by an improving crop outlook in West Africa.
Liffe November robusta coffee settled $2 higher at $1,734 per tonne. Origins remained largely sidelined while roasters only purchasing on a "hand-to-mouth" basis.
Dealers said port congestion in Brazil, which had exacerbated tight nearby sugar supplies, was easing after rain delayed loadings last week. "From Saturday morning the weather dried up and has continued to be dry, allowing loading to speed up," a European broker said in a daily market report.
"However, the forecasters say patchy rain over this week is likely to disrupt loading frequently." Dry weather in Russia is still a concern for sugar beet crops as some analysts estimate its crop could fall below 3 million tonnes from previous projections of around 4 million.
Russia is one of the world's largest sugar buyers, and any domestic shortfall could trigger increased imports. "There will be some Q4 imports - perhaps 200,000 tonnes," a senior London-based trader said, noting that this would be sharply up from the same period a year ago.
"The question everyone is asking now is, 'Basis September or December, are we going to start to see prices below 2,000 pounds a tonne?," a London-based broker said, adding that it was likely prices would soon rebound. West Africa's production outlook has improved in recent weeks, however. Dealers said concerns about a long-term decline in world number one producer Ivory Coast remained a key issue for the market. "Roasters aren't chasing after the market in any big way, although obviously they'd take advantage of any reasonable dip in prices," a London-based broker said.
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