Raw sugar futures on ICE fell to the lowest level in more than three weeks on Friday while cocoa prices rose after a record Asian third-quarter grind. March raw sugar was down 0.02 cents, or 0.2%, at 12.22 cents per lb at 1345 GMT after touching a low of 12.20 cents, the weakest price for the contract since Sept. 24. Dealers said producer selling had helped to put the market on the defensive this week, driven partly by overall weakness in Brazil's real currency.
The market remained underpinned, however, by the prospect of a global deficit in the 2019/20 season, with a prolonged period of low prices curbing production. "We remain positive on prices as 2019/20 global production prospects have deteriorated in recent months and the market is tightening," Fitch Solutions said in a market note.
December white sugar was down $4.30, or 1.3%, at $334.70 a tonne. December New York cocoa rose $12, or 0.5%, to $2,500 a tonne. Dealers said that North American third-quarter grind data was weaker than expected, though the impact was offset by the record pace of grindings in Asia. Asia's third-quarter cocoa grind rose 14.7% from the same period last year to a record 225,356 tonnes, data from the Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) showed on Friday.
North American third-quarter cocoa grindings fell 7.4% year on year, data from the National Confectioners Association (NCA) showed on Thursday. March London cocoa was up 1 pound, or 0.05%, at 1,867 pounds a tonne. December arabica coffee rose 1.2 cents, or 1.3%, to 94.10 cents per lb, pulling away from last week's contract low of 92.20 cents.
Dealers said there may be scope for the market to regain more ground in the short-term but the upside remained capped by abundant supplies and the prospect of a record crop in Brazil next year. January robusta coffee was up $15, or 1.2%, at $1,242 a tonne, extending its rebound from a contract low of $1,211 set on Wednesday.
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