Sugar and coffee futures sprang higher Tuesday as the softs complex consolidated in another lethargic low-volume session. "It's been a little slow," said Jack Scoville, an analyst for brokers The Price Group in Chicago. "I think people are just content to sit back a little bit."
Volumes traded in New York soft commodities ended the day a quarter to 40 percent below their 30-day norms, Thomson Reuters data showed. New York's July raw sugar contract gained 0.16 cent to close at 21.93 cents per lb. Sugar players said values were boosted by a shortage of Brazilian supply for nearby shipment. Dealers focused on delays of several weeks to load new-crop sugar at some Brazilian ports, particularly the Cargill/TEAG terminal at Santos. New York's July cocoa contract fell $26 to close at $2,980 per tonne.
The key July cocoa contract has fallen about 11 percent since April 29, when it hit a seven-week top at $3,348 per tonne. The contract has formed what some are calling a head-and-shoulders pattern, which has attracted some chart-based selling. Arabica coffee futures rose on investor short-covering in similarly lethargic business. ICE Futures US July arabica coffee contract rose 2.00 cents to trade at $2.661 per lb.
The benchmark July arabica contract has dropped 45 cents in the past 10 sessions as it fell from a 34-year high at $3.0890 per lb, reached on May 3. Total open interest has fallen more than 7,000 lots during this time to 113,048 lots by May 16, the lowest in a year-and-a-half, ICE data shows.