ICE sugar futures slipped on Thursday, down for the seventh straight day and hitting their lowest in more than four years on pressure from heavy investor spreading, plentiful supplies and reluctant selling in Brazil. Arabica coffee futures on ICE Futures US corrected higher after from the prior session's 5.9 percent tumble, while Liffe robusta reached a three-week low. ICE cocoa dipped to a 3-1/2-month low on a flurry of selling during the settlement window.
ICE October raw sugar futures dipped 0.16 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at 14.36 cents a lb. The session low was 14.33 cents a lb, the weakest since June 2010. "There's pressure on the origin that have been holding back, a lot of the Brazil origin because of their perception of the crop," said Michael McDougall, a vice-president for Newedge USA in New York. Heavy October/March spreading ahead of October's expiry on September 30 boosted total volume above 141,000 lots, already 45 percent more than the 250-day average for the full day. The spread widened to a 2.29-cent discount from 2.26 cents on Wednesday.
Stronger-than-expected yields in the Brazilian harvest dragged on sugar markets, dealers said. They also cited a lower-than-expected allocation of cane to ethanol, even though ethanol pays millers more than sugar. Dealers also focused on the expiry of the Liffe white sugar October futures contract on September 15, with one broker saying the delivery could include supplies from Thailand, which is sitting on substantial stocks.
Liffe October sugar finished down 20 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $396.40 a tonne, after hitting a contract low of $394.70. ICE arabica coffee corrected higher within the prior session's range after tumbling nearly 6 percent on Wednesday. December arabica coffee closed up 4.20 cents, or 2.3 percent, at $1.8545 per lb.
November robusta coffee on Liffe ended down $30, or 1.5 percent, at $1,988 a tonne, after touching a three-week low at $1,979. Commodity trader Group Sopex said it expects coffee output in top robusta grower Vietnam to rise to more than 30 million 60-kg bags in 2014/15. ICE December cocoa fell $35, or 1.1 percent, to close at $3,028 a tonne, after falling to a 3-1/2-month low at $3,019 in late trade. Liffe December cocoa settled down 19 pounds, or 1 percent, at 1,969 pounds a tonne.