Raw sugar futures on ICE dipped to a 10-year low on Thursday on the prospect of higher exports from India, while New York cocoa fell to a one-month low ahead of the main harvest season in West Africa. March raw sugar was unchanged to settle at 10.91 cents, after trading as low as 10.80 cents.
The market remained pressured by Wednesday's news that India approved higher cane payments for farmers and a host of sugar export incentives. October raw sugar settled up 0.15 cent, or 1.5 percent, at 10.05 cents per lb, after touching the June 2008 low of 9.83 cents. The October contract's discount to March shrunk to as little as 0.77 cent from 1.02 cents the prior session.
Open interest in the October contract was 21,731 lots on Wednesday, down 17,638 lots from the prior session. "India's timing is clearly awful, especially as they will have known that a record crop has been on the cards for several months now - and another big crop is expected in 2019/2020," James Liddiard, of consultancy Agrilion, said in a note.
Ethanol production is helping Brazilian mills cope with prices, a Brazilian agency said. December white sugar settled up $1.30, or 0.4 percent, at $313 per tonne. December arabica coffee settled up 1.55 cents, or 1.59 percent, at 99.30 cents per lb.
The Brazilian real strengthened to its firmest in a month, supporting prices, dealers said. A firmer currency in the world's top grower discourages producer selling. Dealers watched $1.00 per lb, a key resistance level over which the market has failed to close for 10 sessions.
Total open interest increased by 2,519 contracts to a record high 340,502 contracts on Wednesday, ICE data show. November robusta coffee settled up $5, or 0.3 percent, at $1,516 per tonne. Concerns over reduced output in top robusta producer Vietnam underpinned prices, dealers said.
December New York cocoa settled down $37, or 1.7 percent, at $2,114 per tonne, a one-month low. Prices were pressured ahead of the start of the 2018/19 crop season next week, dealers said. Plans by Ivory Coast and second-largest grower Ghana to harmonize prices are unlikely to strongly impact world markets, Fitch Solutions analysts said.
Cargill, Wilmar and Touton have made offers for the liquidated assets of Ivory Coast's top exporter SAF-Cacao, sources told Reuters. December London cocoa settled down 10 pounds, or 0.7 percent, at 1,529 pounds per tonne, a six-month low.
Comments
Comments are closed.