LONDON: Arabica coffee, sugar and cocoa futures on ICE were lower on Thursday, weighed down by broad-based weakness in crude oil and other commodity markets linked to increased restrictions in some parts of the world to slow the spread of COVID-19.

COFFEE

March arabica coffee fell 1.8% to $2.3990 per lb by 1548 GMT, extending the market’s pullback from a 10-year high of $2.5235 set on Tuesday.

Dealers said, however, the overall uptrend remained intact with the market supported by a drop in exports from Colombia and concerns that adverse weather earlier this year could dent production in Brazil next year.

March robusta coffee rose 0.1% to $2,297 a tonne, hovering just below a 10-year high of $2,334 set on Tuesday.

Light rain in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, the world’s top robusta bean producer, continued to disrupt coffee picking and drying process while few farmers started to offer new beans from 2021/22 crop season, traders said on Thursday.