Raw sugar on ICE dropped to a one-month low on Wednesday and arabica coffee futures also fell, weighed by expectations that rains in Brazil will bring relief to crops in the world's largest producer of both commodities. New York cocoa futures traded on ICE Futures US slipped in heavy volume because of spread-related trade and on strong West African supplies.
The front-month ICE March raw sugar on ICE fell 0.17 cent, or 1.1 percent, to end at 15.51, settling near the day's one-month low of 15.50 cents. Rains across Brazil's center-south cane belt through the rest of the week "will improve soil moisture," said US forecaster MDA Weather Services in a daily note. The front-month's discount to the second-month has increased sharply over the past two sessions, seen as evidence of subdued demand and excess global supplies. It hit 0.44 cent a lb on Wednesday, up from as low as 0.24 cent earlier this week.
"The rain is contributing to bearishness in both sugar and coffee," said Phil Pia, desk broker at Societe Generale in New York. The London ICE December white sugar contract dropped $1.70, or 0.4 percent, to settle at $415 per tonne. The December contract, which expires on November 14, has been underpinned by a perceived shortage of deliverable sugar, according to Sucden Financial. In coffee, the most-active March arabica contract on ICE fell 1.95 cents, or 1 percent, to $1.9055 per lb, hovering near Tuesday's one-month low of $1.8640. January robusta coffee futures on ICE finished down $14, or 0.7 percent, at $2,026 a tonne.
ICE March cocoa futures in New York settled down $7, or 0.2 percent, at $2,870 a tonne. Rains in West Africa, the world's top growing region, will aid flowering though they may delay harvesting of the main crop, said MDA forecasters. The London March cocoa contract on ICE eased 1 pound, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 1,878 pounds a tonne.
Comments
Comments are closed.