Arabica coffee prices rise with supplies set to tighten

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE rose on Thursday, with the market supported by the prospect of tightening supplies over the next few months in an off-year in Brazil's biennial crop cycle, while raw sugar prices also rose.

COFFEE

May arabica coffee rose by 1.25 cents, or 1%, to $1.28 per lb at 1432 GMT.

Dealers said the market continued to derive support from the prospect of a smaller Brazil arabica crop this year, though the outlook for demand remains uncertain as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to curb out-of-home consumption.

May robusta coffee rose by $10, or 0.75%, to $1,339 a tonne.

SUGAR

May raw sugar rose by 0.04 cents, or 0.3%, to 15.18 cents per lb.

Dealers said the market was underpinned by adverse weather in several countries, including France, where freezing temperatures had caused severe damage to newly planted sugar beet.
Ukraine's economy ministry on Thursday said the country needs to import 110,000 tonnes of sugar this season to meet local needs after low sugar production in 2020.

May white sugar rose by $1.10, or 0.3%, to $425 a tonne.

COCOA

May London cocoa fell by 33 pounds, or 1.95%, to 1,660 pounds a tonne, weighed partly by diminished concerns about short-term tightness in tenderable supplies.

May slipped to a small discount to July of about 3 pounds compared with a premium of around 19 pounds at the close on Wednesday.

Dealers noted certified stocks had been edging higher and stood at 97,290 tonnes, as of April 7, up from 92,130 tonnes a month earlier.

Weak demand has also reduced the appetite for supplies.

Dealers said first quarter grind data for Europe, due to be issued on Wednesday, should provide another indication of the extent to which demand has fallen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

May New York cocoa fell by $38, or 1.6%, to $2,351 a tonne.