Raw sugar, arabica coffee rise on weak dollar, Brazil weather

Raw sugar futures rose on Friday, finishing their strongest week of gains in four months, buoyed by a falling dollar and weak production figures in top-producer Brazil after heavy rainfall. The weaker dollar, along with waning concerns last week's Brexit vote would dampen growth and demand for raw materials, boosted commodities across the board. Arabica coffee on ICE Futures US rose to its highest levels in more than one year, and cocoa prices also inched up.
"We've got an improving outlook across the board in most commodities," said Phillip Streible, senior market strategist with RJO Futures in Chicago. "The attention from the Brexit vote is fading away a little bit." October raw sugar settled up 0.45 cent, or 2.21 percent, at 20.78 cents per lb, one day after the most-active contract hit a more than 3-1/2 year high at 21.22 cents. The contract finished the week up 8.5 percent, the strongest week of gains since late February.
Brazil's center-south cane belt processed 25.8 million tonnes of cane in the first half of June, below 32.4 million tonnes in the second half of May and far below market expectations, industry group Unica said on Friday. "Chart-wise it looks as if a new 20-21 (cent per lb) range is being established and we look for consolidation within this new higher range in the short term," Nick Penney, senior trader at Sucden Financial, said.
The dollar fell 0.4 percent against a basket of currencies, making greenback-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies. August white sugar settled up $11.50, or 2 percent, at $564.00 per tonne, having surged on Thursday to a contract high at $573.20.
September arabica coffee settled up 0.75 cent, or 0.51 percent, at $1.464 per lb, rising for the fourth straight session on the weaker dollar and concerns over the quality of new crop Brazilian beans due to rainfall. The price had risen as high as $1.48 a lb, the highest level since April 2015. September robusta coffee settled up $28, or 1.63 percent, at $1,745 per tonne.
Besides the rain disruption, the market has also priced in the risk of a frost that could roil the crop in the Brazilian winter, Streible said. September New York cocoa settled up $32, or 1.08 percent, at $2,995 per tonne, while London cocoa settled up 21 pounds, or 0.89 percent, at 2,372 pounds per tonne.