Raw sugar rebounds after sharp sell-off, coffee eases

Raw sugar futures rebounded on Friday from a one-week low, showing signs of resuming their upward trend on tightening global supplies after a sharp setback this week. ICE October raw sugar settled up 0.11 cent, or 0.6 percent, at 19.71 cents per lb, after hitting a one-week low of 19.50 cents.
Dealers said the market remained supported by the prospect of global deficits in both the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons, and sugar's strong performance this year was prompting funds to hold a large net long position in the sweetener.
"We regard the long term outlook as potentially very bullish," said Michael Liddiard of consultancy Agrilion.
"All the attempts to shake out the funds have not worked."
Commerzbank on Friday raised its price forecast for the fourth quarter of this year by 1 cent to 18.50 cents a lb, citing potentially lower-than-expected production in both Brazil and India.
October white sugar settled up $1.40, or 0.3 percent, at $534.10 per tonne.
Arabica coffee futures were slightly lower with December closing down 0.8 cent, or 0.6 percent, at $1.4035 per lb, after falling to the lowest since late June at $1.40. For the week, the second position closed down 4 percent, its weakest performance since June.
Traders said the weak Brazilian real was a source of pressure. Dealers said one factor weighing on the market was better-than-expected arabica yields in Brazil. The International Coffee Organisation said it revised down its global coffee production estimate, with robusta output expected to fall.
September robusta coffee settled down $5, or 0.3 percent, at $1,803 per tonne.
Robusta prices had been underpinned by the prospect of a global deficit in the 2016/17 season.
December New York cocoa settled down $12, or 0.4 percent, at $2,981 per tonne.
Dealers said the market was still supported in the long term by an expected large global cocoa deficit in 2015/16, although a switch to a global surplus is anticipated in the upcoming 2016/17 season.
Olam International on Friday forecast a global cocoa deficit of 320,000 tonnes in the current 2015/16 season, wider than the median estimate of 245,000 tonnes in a Reuters poll issued in late July. In Nigeria, black pod disease and higher costs have caused the Cocoa Association of Nigeria to cut its 2016/17 estimate. December London cocoa settled up 1 pounds, or 0.04 percent, at 2,378 pounds per tonne.