LONDON: Arabica coffee and New York cocoa futures on ICE both fell to one-month lows on Monday, with investors liquidating long positions in riskier assets and looking for safe havens after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rattled global financial markets.

COFFEE

May arabica coffee fell 1.8% to $2.3430 per lb by 1452 GMT after slumping to a one-month low of $2.3365.

Dealers said funds were continuing to scale back long positions as they look to ditch riskier assets.

They noted, however, that global supplies of arabica coffee remain tight, which should limit the scope of any decline in prices.

May robusta coffee fell 2.2% to $2,130 a tonne.

Vietnam’s coffee exports in the first two months of the year likely rose 3.4% from a year earlier to 293,000 tonnes, government data on Monday showed.

COCOA

May New York cocoa fell 2.5% to $2,548 a tonne after dropping to a one-month low of $2,529.

Dealers said funds were also liquidating long positions in cocoa as they seek to sell riskier assets.

The market continues to derive support, however, from concerns about hot, dry weather in top grower Ivory Coast.

March London cocoa fell 2.0% to 1,695 pounds a tonne.

SUGAR

May raw sugar rose 0.8% to 17.74 cents per lb, supported by a sharp rise in energy prices..

High energy prices can lead to more use of cane to make biofuel ethanol rather than sugar, particularly in Brazil.

Dealers were also focused on the expiry of the March contract later on Monday.

May white sugar was up 0.6% at $495.60 a tonne.

The International Sugar Organization on Monday trimmed its forecast for an expected global sugar deficit in the 2021/22 season (October/September) to 1.93 million tonnes from a previous projection of 2.55 million.