London September cocoa fell 17 pounds to settle at 1,890 pounds pounds per tonne on Wednesday, US cocoa futures reversed to close higher, in heavy spread dealings as new fund longs are expected to need to roll, while coffee hobbled lower. October white sugar on Liffe closed down $1.90 at $803.50 per tonne, after touching a contract high of $821.00 on Monday. September robusta coffee on Liffe dropped $46 to settle at $2,127 per tonne.
Sugar was mixed and choppy in thin, rangebound dealings as prospects for increased output in a number of producers outweighed concerns over Brazil's crop. Many commodities felt pressure as investors shed riskier assets and sought safety on growing fears of a possible US deb default. Ivory Coast and Ghana 2011/12 cocoa production is expected to fall 15 percent on the year, helping switch the global market into a deficit of over 100,000 tonnes, international trade house Armajaro said on Wednesday.
Raw sugar futures drifted along in range-bound trade, with players looking for leads which could determine the next move of the sweetener. The bullish factor of lower cane and sugar production in top producer/exporter Brazil is counterbalanced by the fact there will be a surplus of sugar and bigger output in countries like Russia and maybe Thailand among others.
Jonathan Kingsman, head of the Lausanne-based Kingsman sugar and ethanol consultancy, noted that while output expectations in number one producer Brazil had been revised lower, big sugar crops were expected in a number of other producers, such as Russia, the Philippines and Pakistan.