Raw sugar hits six-week low, coffee rebounds

Raw sugar futures on ICE fell for the ninth straight day and reached a six-week low on Friday, after data showed ample output in top grower Brazil and on expectations for more producer selling against the October contract. Coffee and cocoa prices rebounded. October raw sugar settled down 0.04 cent, or 0.3 percent, at 13.2 cents per lb, after the spot contract fell to its lowest level since June 29 at 13.11 cents. This extended losses from the previous day, when total open interest jumped by nearly 10,000 contracts to 795,704 contracts as prices tumbled 3 percent on speculative short-selling, according to traders and exchange data.
The spot contract closed the week down 6.6 percent, its poorest weekly performance in more than two months. Mills in the main cane belt in Brazil crushed a record 50.737 million tonnes of cane and produced 3.413 million tonnes of sugar in the second half of July, cane industry group Unica said on Friday.
This was in line with market expectations. "We've got funds short and producers need to sell and they're running out of time. There's just too much sugar," one US trader said. Dealers noted that spot sugar prices are now below the ethanol parity in Brazil, which could limit further losses in the market.
October white sugar settled down $2.10, or 0.6 percent, at $364.40 per tonne, after slipping to its lowest level since September 2015 at $363.30. September robusta coffee settled up $49, or 2.3 percent, at $2,139 per tonne, the spot contract's strongest one-day jump in seven weeks.
Prices rallied on short-covering, after dropping 3.4 percent in the prior two sessions, traders said. Dealers noted the market was supported on Friday by strengthening chart signals, after prices returned above the 200-day moving average. December arabica coffee settled up 1.85 cent, or 1.3 percent, at $1.4385 per lb, reversing course after falling to $1.405.
The second-position contract ended the week up a slight 0.1 percent, the sixth straight weekly gain as traders monitor tightening supplies and quality issues in Brazil. December London cocoa settled up 6 pounds, or 0.4 percent, at 1,554 pounds per tonne, after falling to 1,532 pounds, the lowest level since July 27. The second-position closed the week down 1.5 percent. December New York cocoa settled up $12, or 0.6 percent, at $1,977 per tonne, but ended the week down 2.2 percent on a continuation chart.