NEW YORK: Arabica coffee futures on ICE ended the week with a net gain of 6% after a strong advance on Friday when other commodities also jumped amid signs of the end of the cycle of US monetary tightening.

COFFEE

December arabica coffee settled up 5.6 cents, or 3.8%, at $1.549 per lb after hitting a three-week high of $1.5565. Commodities futures posted overall gains on Friday amid comments from the US Federal Reserve that the cycle of rising interest rates might be over. Dealers also said funds had started to cover short positions while there continued to be concerns that the El Nino weather event could curb production in South East Asia.

January robusta coffee rose $29, or 1.3%, at $2,284 a metric ton, edging further away from a six-month low of $2,223 set on Tuesday.

SUGAR

March raw sugar settled up 0.68 cent, or 2.6%, at 27.03 cents per lb. The contract gained 1% in the week. Dealers said the market continued to derive support from concerns that an El Nino weather event will curb production in major Asian producers including India and Thailand. “Following a sharp downturn in Indian production in 2022/23, hopes of a strong rebound in 2023/24 have been curtailed,” BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note.

BMI said an upturn in crude oil prices had also supported sugar. Oil rose nearly 6% on Friday. December white sugar rose $16.10, or 2.3%, at $727.30 a ton.

COCOA

March London cocoa settled up 20 pounds, or 0.7%, to 3,040 pounds per ton. It gained 3% in the week. The market remained underpinned by supply woes in West Africa with a third consecutive global deficit widely forecast for the 2023/24 season (October/September). “Anxieties about potential drier-than-average conditions across West Africa ahead, associated with El Niño events, have driven market fears of a supply-side crunch,” BMI said.

Ivory Coast’s cocoa grind was up 6.5% year-on-year in September at 59,067 tonnes, data from the exporters’ association GEPEX showed on Friday. December New York cocoa rose $9, or 0.3%, to $3,499 a ton.