Arabica coffee futures on ICE US fell to a five-week low on Friday, weighed by fund-selling, ample supplies and sluggish physical demand. Cocoa and sugar prices rose slightly. December arabica coffee settled down 0.35 cent, or 0.3 percent, at $1.317 per lb, after touching a low of $1.3035, the weakest for the second month since July 13.
Dealers cited weak physical demand, well-stocked roasters and an uptick in arbitrage activity, with speculators selling funds in arabica and buying robusta coffee. Mid-session trade prices switched to an up trend, though still settled down for the day in an oversold market, said Boyd Cruel, commodity broker for High Ridge Futures in Gilbert, Arizona.
"The market's getting a technical bounce at $1.2650," Cruel said. "The market absorbed a lack of bullish news. We're just seeing a retracement." November robusta coffee settled up $47, or 2.3 percent, at $2,101 per tonne, pulling away from an eight-week low of $2,030 hit on Thursday.
December New York cocoa settled up $9, or 0.5 percent, at $1,878 per tonne, as the market continued to edge away from a one-month low of $1,830 set earlier this week. Expected delays to the next crop start from top producer Ivory Coast helped improve sentiment, despite persistently ample nearby supplies.
"We're expecting delays, but we have 450,000 ton surplus, so there's no urgency," said Nick Gentile, managing partner of commodity trading for NickJen Capital in New York. Speculative short-covering also supported prices, Gentile added. December London cocoa settled up 13 pounds, or 0.9 percent, at 1,496 pounds per tonne.
October raw sugar settled up 0.12 cent, or 0.90 percent, at 13.41 cents per lb, above Wednesday's seven-week low of 12.92 cents. Dealers said prices continued to be capped by rising global production. The International Sugar Organization on Friday forecast there would be a global sugar surplus of 4.6 million tonnes in 2017/18 compared with a deficit of 3.9 million in the prior season.
A stronger Brazilian real, along with expected rain in Brazil over the weekend, will encourage mills to produce ethanol rather than sugar, and supported prices, said Michael McDougall, director of commodities for Societe Generale in New York. The currency's gains support prices of dollar-traded commodities. October white sugar settled up $1, or 0.3 percent, at $370.60 per tonne.
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