Cocoa, sugar fall

Cocoa futures on ICE fell on Friday, on pressure from heavy speculative selling and a commodity-wide selling spree, while raw sugar turned sharply lower, falling to a one-month low on pressure from the currency in top grower Brazil. Arabica coffee turned higher after tapping a 1-1/2-year low, while robusta fell to a two-month low, closing lower for the fourth straight week.
Cocoa futures fell in heavy volume and took their biggest weekly tumble since January as speculators continued to liquidate positions after rising to the highest prices since March 2011. This selling spree came after data showed speculators' bullish position was the biggest since October 2014 in New York, despite weak demand. "It is (the) stronger dollar with continued system spec liquidation," said Rod Groom, trader at General Cocoa in New York, explaining the session's lower move. Other traders added that industry buying was preventing deeper losses.
September New York cocoa closed down $60, or 1.9 percent, at $3,181 a tonne, while September London cocoa settled down 34 pounds, or 1.6 percent, at 2,131 pounds a tonne. Cocoa processing in Asia slumped by 12 percent in the second quarter year-over-year, data showed on Friday, largely in line with expectations. Raw sugar futures opened above the prior session's trading range but settled sharply below it, marking an outside reversal, which is a technical formation that can be interpreted as a bearish indicator.
"Sugar is a victim of the weak real," said Nick Gentile, managing partner of commodity trading advisor NickJen Capital in New York. Brazil's currency, the real, fell sharply for the third straight day, to its lowest since 2003. The weak currency can attract selling of the dollar-traded commodity from Brazil. October raw sugar settled down 0.27 cent, or 2.3 percent, at 11.24 cents a lb, after hitting a one-month low of 11.20 cents. The spot contract fell for the second straight week and marked its biggest weekly tumble since September.
October white sugar futures ended down $2.90, or 0.8 percent, at $346.60 per tonne. September arabicas finished up 0.7 cent, or 0.6 percent, at $1.2225 per lb, after touching $1.2065, its lowest since January 2014. September robustas closed down $11, or 0.7 percent, at $1,650 a tonne, a one-month low. Arabica coffee prices should rise from current depressed values before the end of 2015 but remain below end-2014 levels, a poll showed on Friday.