Arabica coffee falls to new lows, sugar up

Arabica coffee futures on ICE fell on Friday, pressured by excess supplies and a weaker currency in Brazil, while raw sugar inched higher. May arabica coffee settled down 0.9 cent, or 1 percent, at 93.90 cents per lb after setting a fresh contract low of 93.65 cents. On the week, the monthly contract shed 3.9 percent. It has posted declines in seven of the past eight weeks. Prices have collapsed on excess supplies, especially from top grower Brazil which is forecast to have a massive 2019-20
crop despite it being the off-year in arabica's biennial crop cycle. A weakening of the Brazilian real also pressured prices, dealers said. A weaker real can encourage producer selling. "The real was the kiss of death for coffee today," said one US trader.
May robusta coffee settled down $9, or 0.6 percent, at $1,494 per tonne. May raw sugar settled up 0.07 cent, or 0.6 percent, at 12.57 cents per lb. On the week, the contract gained 0.4 percent. The market was supported by the prospect of a 2019-20 deficit, dealers said, with production set to fall in India, Thailand, and the European Union.
Farmers in western Europe have begun sugar beet planting, with signs indicating a decline in area after a price slump on the end of European Union production quotas.
Brazilian mills in the main cane belt, however, are expected to produce 7 percent more sugar in the new season starting in April, a Reuters poll showed.
Dealers were awaiting weekly CFTC data, to be issued later on Friday, and closely watching the size of the speculative net short position.
A larger-than-expected speculative net short in last week's report triggered a price rise on Monday.
"We would be expecting a continuation of the recent trend and an increase in the net spec short position," said Thomas Kujawa, co-head of the softs department at Sucden Financial.
May white sugar settled up 20 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $335.40 per tonne.
May New York cocoa settled up $27, or 1.3 percent, at $2,159 per tonne, with prices buoyed by short-covering, dealers said.
Total open interest climbed on Thursday by 5,128 lots to 270,953 lots, ICE data show, the highest since June.
On the week, the contract shed 1.7 percent, its fifth straight week of declines.
Prices have been pressured by plentiful supplies, especially from top grower Ivory Coast. May London cocoa settled up 8 pounds, or 0.5 percent, at 1,628 pounds per tonne.