New York sugar tumbles

Raw sugar futures changed direction and tumbled to close down 2.2 percent on Thursday, after the spot contract fell from a near four-month high on its last trading day. Arabica coffee futures settled higher on month-end short-covering and some concern that top grower Brazil will possibly see some frost in the near future.
US cocoa also closed higher on chart-based strength. Benchmark October fell 0.58 cent, or 2.2 percent, to close at 26.34 cents a lb. The second position closed June up 14.6 percent, its biggest monthly climb in 2011. It finished the second quarter up 5.2 percent and the first half of 2011 down 10.2 percent.July raw sugar contract tumbled 0.92 cent to close at 28.36 cents per lb, a 2.02-cent premium to October, down from 2.36 cent Tuesday. It hit a near-four-month high earlier at 30.88 cents per lb. It is the final trading day for July, which had open interest of 10,437 lots as of June 29.
Market reversed sharply lower as it was deemed to have been overbought and was weighed down by profit-taking, said raders. "The question is, how much sugar can actually be delivered today. The market is planning anywhere from 500,000-700,000 tonnes that can actually be delivered," said Alex Oliveira, senior sugar analyst for brokerage Newedge USA.
India's key monsoon rains were 10 percent above normal in the past week to June 29, slowing from the 23 percent above average rains in the previous week. September arabica coffee futures settled up 4.9 cents at $2.6560 per lb. The second position closed the second quarter down 0.4 percent, but finished the first half of the year up 9.8 percent. Another cool air mass could bring lower temperatures to Brazil July 8-9 that will be colder than conditions earlier this week, noting that the forecast was subject to change, according to Telvent DTN.
World coffee exports rose 16.8 percent in the first eight months of the year (October-September), from the same period a year earlier, according to International Coffee Organisation. ICE certified arabica stocks eased by 1,388 bags to 1,622,299 bags by June 29, with 10,715 bags pending grading. Key September cocoa futures closed up $32 at $3,151 per tonne. Second position contract finished the second quarter up 6.2 percent and the first half of the year up 3.2 percent. September continued to see chart-based buying after soaring above the 200-day moving average earlier this week, taking it out of the range it held for seven weeks, said traders.