Sugar prices fall on ample supplies; cocoa, coffee also down
- July raw sugar was down 1.3% at 17.43 cents per lb.
- July arabica coffee fell 0.4% to $1.6015 per lb. The contract hit a 4-1/2 year high last week.
LONDON: Sugar prices on ICE fell on Friday due to signs of ample supplies, though the market remained within recent ranges. Cocoa and coffee prices also headed lower.
SUGAR
July raw sugar was down 1.3% at 17.43 cents per lb at 1304 GMT.
August white sugar fell 1% to $450 a tonne.
Dealers said the widening discounts for front month versus second month raw and white sugar indicated nearby supplies remained plentiful, but added there was good buying from end-users at around 17.60, keeping prices range-bound.
Data showed sugar production in the key Centre-South region of top producer Brazil totalled 2.62 million tonnes in the second half of May - above market expectations.
COFFEE
July arabica coffee fell 0.4% to $1.6015 per lb. The contract hit a 4-1/2 year high last week.
Dealers said the market remained concerned about next year's crop in top arabica producer Brazil, after severe dryness damaged the current crop.
There are signs anti-government protests that disrupted exports like coffee in world No. 2 arabica producer Colombia are losing steam.
July robusta coffee fell 0.2% to $1,608 a tonne.
COCOA
September London cocoa fell 0.3% to 1,617 pounds per tonne.
World No. 2 cocoa producer Ghana's bean arrivals at ports reached 924,385 tonnes by May 27 since the start of the season on Oct. 1, up 25.3% from last season.
Cocoa has sharply underperformed other soft commodities this year. Dealers said the market was struggling for direction and appeared range-bound for now.
Fitch Solutions expects cocoa to trade between 1,600 and 1,750 pounds over the coming weeks of June and July as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions continue to hurt chocolate demand.
September New York cocoa fell 1.5% to $2,396 a tonne.
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