Arabica coffee futures on ICE jumped nearly 3 percent on Thursday, their biggest one-day surge in 3-1/2 months, as a wave of short-covering pushed them above their 14-day moving average, while raw sugar fell close to the lowest in nearly three years. Cocoa futures were little changed ahead of the North American grind data set for release post-market, with the Liffe market remaining above its 200-day moving average while the ICE market extended into technically overbought territory.
Arabica coffee futures on ICE rallied with July up 4.00 cents, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $1.4085 per lb, its biggest jump since January 2, as the market moved further from Monday's near three-year low at $1.3355. Total volume exceeded 38,000 lots, ahead of the May contract's first notice day on Monday, up more than 70 percent from the 250-day average, preliminary Thomson Reuters data showed.
Dealers said reduced crop prospects in Central America provided some support although the prospect for a large harvest in top grower Brazil remained a bearish influence. "By contrast, the expectation of a bumper harvest in Brazil, which is due to begin shortly, is continuing to weigh on prices and is likely to prevent any significant price increases for the time being," Commerzbank said in a market update. July robusta coffee futures on Liffe turned higher, closing up $10, or 0.5 percent, at $2,084 a tonne, following earlier pressure from recent rains in top grower Vietnam keeping the market under pressure, holding just above their 200-day moving average at $2,060.
May raw sugar futures on ICE slipped 0.16 cent, or 0.9 percent, to end at 17.69 cents a lb, with the session low at 17.55 cents. The front month hit 17.47 cents on April 3, its lowest level since July 2010. Total volume exceeded 150,000 lots, up more than 55 percent from the 250-day average, preliminary data showed. The May/July spread widened to close at a 0.08-cent premium, from 0.05 on Wednesday, ahead of the spot contract's expiry at the end of the month.
Dealers said the pace of crushing in Brazil had picked-up, a bearish market factor, following recent delays caused by wet weather. A survey of mills by Czarnikow's Brazil office projected cane crushing would reach 40 million tonnes by May 1, up from 14 million at the same stage last year. August white sugar on Liffe fell $4.20, or 0.8 percent, at $502.70 a tonne.
July cocoa on ICE closed up $2 at $2,319 a tonne. The contract rose to a peak of $2,337 on Wednesday, a four-month high. July cocoa on Liffe settled flat at 1,543 pounds a tonne. Raw sugar futures on ICE were weaker on Thursday as the market fell towards a more than 2-1/2 year low set earlier this month with concern about excess supplies heightened by a pick-up in the pace of cane crushing in top producer Brazil.