LONDON: London cocoa futures on ICE hit their lowest in three months on Tuesday on signs of abundant supplies and as speculators continued to liquidate long positions. Coffee also fell while sugar gained.

COCOA

March London cocoa fell 1.5% to 1,688 pounds a tonne at 1517 GMT?, having touched its weakest since early August at 1,684 pounds.

Dealers noted the discount for March cocoa versus May has widened to its weakest since July 22, indicating ample supply.

Crop conditions have been favourable of late in top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana while the recovery in demand for the chocolate ingredient has been weaker than expected.

Ivory Coast cocoa bean exports rose 3.4% in the 2020/21 (Oct to Sept) season, provisional data showed, while cocoa powder, butter and chocolate exports rose 2%.

March New York cocoa fell 3% to $2,524 a tonne, having hit a two-month low of $2,520.

COFFEE

January robusta coffee fell 1.9% to $2,225 a tonne, having hit a 4-1/2-year high of $2,278 last week.

Dealers said there were adequate supplies of robusta in top producer Vietnam, but shipping delays and costs have led to a sharp draw on available stocks of the bean in Europe, a key consumer.

The entire robusta futures curve is backwardated, they noted, with nearby prices higher than those further out, indicating tight supplies.

December arabica coffee fell 1% to $2.0660 per lb.

Costa Rica’s October coffee exports fell 29.6% year on year owing to a tree renovation programme that has reduced the crop’s output, national coffee institute ICAFE said.

Black Rifle Coffee Company will go public through a merger with a so-called blank-cheque acquisition company in a deal that values the combined business at about $1.7 billion.

SUGAR

March raw sugar rose 0.8% to 19.53 cents per lb. December white sugar was little changed at $511.10 a tonne.