Sugar, cocoa falls

Raw sugar futures on ICE dropped to a 4-1/2-month low on Wednesday on expectations that upcoming Brazilian cane data will reveal rapid crushing, while cocoa slipped further below a recent three-year high. Arabica coffee on ICE Futures US was down a shade in choppy dealings while robusta coffee on Liffe also weakened but held just above its 100-day moving average.
ICE October raw sugar fell 0.26 cent, or 1.5 percent, to settle at 17.42 cents per lb, paring losses from a 4-1/2-month low at 17.27 cents, pressured by the expectation for a rapid cane crush in Brazil. The contract initially rose near the 200-day moving average but it held resistance for the third straight session, sending prices lower.
Dealers focused on the expected release of Brazilian crop industry data from Unica on Thursday, which is expected to reveal a speedy cane crush in dry weather in the second half of June in the center-south of Brazil, the world's biggest sugar grower. "We have Unica data tomorrow, and perhaps this will provide an impetus to what is presently viewed as a nearby short- to medium-term bear market," said Thomas Kujawa, co-head of the softs desk at Sucden Financial Sugar.
Liffe August white sugar fell $6.20, or 1.3 percent, to end at $459.00 per tonne, a four-week low. Some dealers have said they expect a modest delivery against expiry of the August white sugar contract on July 16. ICE second-month cocoa settled down $29, or 0.9 percent, at $3,087 per tonne on abundant supplies in top grower Ivory Coast despite forecasts for a 2014/15 global deficit that lifted prices to a three-year peak last week.
Dealers were awaiting second-quarter European grind data, a measure of demand, due to be released on Thursday. Eric Sivry, head of agri options brokerage at Marex Spectron, said the market consensus was for the grind to be flat to up 5 percent year-on-year. Liffe September cocoa dropped 19 pounds, or 1 percent, to finish at 1,912 pounds a tonne. Ivory Coast increased its 2014 budget by nearly 4 percent, in part on expectations of higher earnings from cocoa, a government spokesman said.
Coffee futures were quietly lower in thin dealings. The benchmark September arabica coffee contract on ICE finished down 0.05 cent, or 0.03 percent, at $1.7290 per lb. Liffe September robusta coffee eased $7, or 0.3 percent, to close at $2,056 per tonne.