Liffe July robusta coffee rose $19 to close at $2,555 a tonne after setting a contract high of $2,572. Market supported by surge in ICE arabicas to a fresh 34-year peak. Liffe August white sugar fell $11.40 to close at $615.10 a tonne after earlier hitting a six-month low of $605.00. Market weighed by improving supply outlook.
Liffe July cocoa ended 54 pounds higher at 1,981 pounds a tonne. Traders monitoring developments in top grower Ivory Coast with exports seen resuming next week and banks beginning to reopen. Raw sugar fell to a six-month low, pressured by ample supplies from Brazil and Thailand, while cocoa extended gains but remained below last month's 32-year peak as the dollar slid.
Cocoa has held up well despite expectations of big exports from Ivory Coast after a four-month power struggle, which brought the world's top producer to the brink of a new civil war. "The weaker dollar - if it is sustainable - will help matters from a speculator's viewpoint," said Kona Haque, soft commodity strategist at Macquarie Bank in London.
She noted a lack of origin selling and said that if dollar weakness persisted, the market had room to go higher spurred by investor demand, with a key near-term resistance level of $3.05 per lb. "I suspect the $3.05 level is as far as it's going to get before it starts falling," Haque said.
Cocoa futures extended gains, boosted by the softer dollar, with the focus on Ivory Coast as dealers awaited news about the mid crop and the resumption of exports. "The cocoa market has held up really well given the news of big impending exports from Ivory Coast," said Haque. India has approved around 30,000 tonnes of unrestricted sugar exports, kicking off overseas sales of a total 500,000 tonnes given an official green light on April 19, government sources said on Thursday. Dealers focused on the expiry of the ICE May raw sugar futures contract on Friday and anticipated delivery of predominantly Thai sugars after larger-than-expected output in the Asian country.
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