SOFTS-Arabica coffee eases, August white sugar hits 11-month low

12 Jul, 2019

COFFEE

* September arabica coffee settled down 0.3 cent, or 0.3%, at $1.0665 per lb.

* On the week, the contract lost nearly 3.9%.

* Much of the week's losses occurred on Monday, when prices fell sharply as early assessments of a weekend frost in top-grower Brazil indicated only minor damage to crops.

* A firmer Brazilian real, however, helped limit losses and underpin the market. A stronger real can discourage selling by Brazilian producers.

* Dealers continued to closely follow temperatures in Brazil.

* While forecasts for the coming 6-10 days feature cool temperatures across southern Brazil, "the frost threat remains low at this time," weather forecaster Radiant Solutions said in a note.

* Meanwhile, Colombia, the world's top supplier of washed arabica, is creating a special fund to subsidize coffee farmers when international prices fall below production costs.

* September robusta coffee

settled down $3, or 0.2%, at $1,424 per tonne. Trade volumes for the contract were light, at their lowest levels since Christmas Eve.

* Top robusta producer Vietnam exported 2.37 million 60-kg bags of coffee in June, customs data showed, down 2.6% from May.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar settled down 0.08 cent, or 0.7%, at 12.30 cents per lb.

* The contract fell 0.5% on the week, as ample global supplies continue to keep a lid on the market.

* Still, concerns about the potentially weak monsoon in major producer and top consumer India are limiting market losses, dealers said.

 

 

* August white sugar  settled down $10.90, or 3.4%, to $306.80 a tonne after falling to an 11-month low of $305.70.

* The August contract

expires on Tuesday and its discount to the October contract <LSUQ9-V9> deepened to as much as $17.30 as traders rolled out of their positions.

* Dealers noted the potential for a large delivery next week, with possible origins including Guatemala, Mexico and Thailand.

COCOA

* September New York cocoa   settled up $12, or 0.5%, at $2,503 per tonne after trading in light volumes.

* On the week, the contract rose 1.4%.

* September London cocoa

settled up 17 pounds, or 0.9%, at 1,871 pounds per tonne. The contract gained 1.7% on the week.

* Dealers were anticipating the release of data on second-quarter grindings, an indicator of demand, with European figures due on Tuesday and North American figures due on Thursday.

 

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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