LONDON: Raw sugar futures fell to their lowest level in more than nine months on Friday as funds liquidated long positions in a largely technically driven decline. Cocoa futures also fell, while coffee was little changed.
SUGAR
May raw sugar futures were off 0.65 cents, or 3.6 percent, at 17.60 cents a lb at 1521 GMT after dipping to a low of 17.52 cents, the weakest for the front month since early June last year.
The decline gathered momentum with sell-stops triggered as a series of support levels were breached.
Dealers said the decline was largely driven by technical influences although favourable crop conditions in top grower Brazil has reinforced sentiment that there is likely to be a global surplus in the upcoming 2017-18 season.
"We have not seen any sugar specific news which would have triggered this move today and so believe that it is largely technically driven," James Liddiard of consultancy Agrilion said in a market note.
May white sugar fell $11.30, or 2.2 percent, to $499.00 a tonne.
Mexico demands reciprocity in its refined sugar-for-fructose trade with the United States and it is unfair to "punish" its sugar industry, the agriculture minister said on Thursday, at a time of tensions over the pace of Mexican sugar shipments north.
COCOA
May London cocoa fell 14 pounds, or 0.9 percent, to 1,637 pounds a tonne although the contract remained on track for a weekly gain of about 2.6 percent.
Dealers said the market's run-up this week had been largely driven by technically-driven short covering but there were signs the bearish sentiment on fundamentals were beginning to reassert itself.
They noted there remained widespread expectations that there would be a large global surplus in the current 2016/17 season and tentative forecasts there could be another surplus in 2017/18.
A total of 150,200 tonnes of cocoa has been tendered against the ICE March London cocoa contract that expired on Thursday, exchange data showed on Friday.
May New York cocoa futures fell $15, or 0.7 percent, to $2,012 a tonne.
COFFEE
May arabica rose 0.10 cents, or 0.1 percent, to$1.4155 per lb while May robusta coffee fell $3 or 0.1 percent to $2,180 a tonne.
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