Cocoa futures on ICE fell on Thursday, a day after hitting 11-month highs technically close to overbought territory, while sugar rose to a more than 1-1/2 month high. September New York cocoa settled down $31, or 1.2%, at $2,510 per tonne. In the previous session, the contract climbed to a nearly one-year high of $2,552, on speculative buying and news of a price floor agreement in West Africa.
The contract neared technically overbought territory on the relative strength index, however, warranting a slight correction. The ongoing roll also pressured prices, dealers said. Ghana and Ivory Coast, which account for nearly two-thirds of global production, set a minimum price of $2,600 a tonne on Wednesday and suspended forward sales for the 2020-21 season.
Rabbobank analyst Carolos Mera said the move was significant but cited some concern that no plan was announced to deal with excess supply, which often accompanies a move to set floor prices. September London cocoa settled down 15 pounds, or 0.8%, at 1,850 pounds per tonne.
July raw sugar settled up 0.13 cent, or 1%, at 12.75 cents per lb, its highest since April 22. Sugar was also buoyed by news that production in India, a top-grower, could fall as much as 15% in 2019/20 because of drought. August white sugar settled up $2, or 0.6%, at $335.70 per tonne. September arabica coffee settled down 1.75 cent, or 1.7%, at 99.75 cents per lb.
September robusta coffee settled down $15, or 1.1%, at $1,414 per tonne. Vietnam's domestic robusta prices rose on Thursday by about 2.1% from a week earlier as exchange rate fluctuations prompted some farmers to refrain from selling.