LONDON: London cocoa futures on ICE fell to the lowest level in more than four years on Thursday as technically driven selling helped to accelerate a decline driven by excess supplies and this week's surge in sterling.
COCOA
July London was down 55 pounds or 3.7 percent at 1,416 pounds a tonne by 1241 GMT after slipping to 1,412 pounds, the lowest for the second position since March 2013.
Dealers said follow-through selling occurred, after New York cocoa prices fell in the post-close session on Wednesday.
"London was due down quite a bit this morning (based on New York weakness late on Wednesday) and I think you have systematic selling here," one dealer said, referring to selling driven by technical factors rather than fresh fundamentals.
Dealers noted, however, the fundamental backdrop remained bearish with a large global surplus widely forecast for the current 2016/17 season.
Asia's first-quarter cocoa grind was up 19.2 percent year-on-year, but slightly below the previous quarter.
The market was awaiting the release of data for North America on Thursday. The first-quarter grind is expected to be flat to slightly higher, year-on-year.
July New York cocoa fell $70, or 3.7 percent, to $1,803 a tonne.
SUGAR
July raw sugar was up 0.15 cent, or 0.9 percent, at 16.67 cents a lb.
The market recouped some of the prior session's losses, with prices moving back towards the middle of this month's range of 16.20 to 17.26 cents a lb.
Dealers said the medium-term downtrend remained intact.
"The funds seem to be comfortable with their short at present and the sugar bears are yet to have a 'story' to panic them. We await fresh news and expect the market to continue sideways to lower," said Tom Kujawa, co-head of the softs department at Sucden Financial.
August white sugar rose by $3.00, or 0.6 percent, to $472.30 a tonne.
COFFEE
July arabica coffee rose a marginal 0.2 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $1.4085 per lb, consolidating after the prior session's sharp decline.
July robusta rose $2 to $2,176 a tonne.
Coffee prices in Vietnam eased this week as trade was thin due to low demand while prices in Indonesia dropped on surplus supply, traders said on Thursday.
Comments
Comments are closed.