Arabica slips on chart pressure, cocoa hovers above lows

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures fell on Thursday, coming under chart-based pressure, while cocoa hovered near multi-year lows as ample global supplies remained in focus.

COFFEE

July arabica coffee fell 1.5 cents, or 1.09 percent, to $1.3595 per lb by 1133 GMT, having gained 1.2 percent in the previous session.

Dealers said prices encountered resistance at the $1.37 mark, triggering a retreat, though low volumes signalled weak conviction.

Robusta futures were also lower, with July down $15, or 0.74 percent, at $2,019 a tonne.

The market sold off sharply late last month on a wave of long liquidation by speculators. However, dealers said sentiment remains broadly bullish for the longer term.

"I think people aren't really moving away from that view that there is a problem with robusta," said one dealer. "But it's probably going to be at the latter stages of this year rather than now."

Exports of robusta from Indonesia's main growing area of Lampung surged by 140 percent year on year in April, local government data showed on Thursday.

COCOA

July London cocoa rose a marginal 4 pounds, or 0.29 percent, to 1,394 pounds a tonne. July New York cocoa gained $5, or 0.28 percent, to $1,785 a tonne.

Both markets hit multi-year lows on April 20, pressured by weak technicals and growing expectations for a global surplus.

Thursday's gains were fragile, however, with dealers noting low volumes indicated weak appetite and further losses could lie ahead.

"There's no real bottom at the moment," one said. "And there is no real push to the upside. No one is chasing the market up, the industry is well-covered."

Ghana's Cocobod is considering proposals to discount its premium main-crop beans to local grinders as part of the new government's plans to increase local processing to 50 percent of annual output.

Dealers said this could help local grinders to absorb some of the extra production.

SUGAR

Sugar futures were slightly weaker, though trade remained range-bound.

July raw sugar eased by 0.09 cents, or 0.56 percent, to 15.93 cents per lb. August white sugar was down $2, or 0.44 percent, at $448.20 a tonne.

The market was monitoring China, where a decision is expected this month on whether the country should impose special import duties on sugar as part of an anti-dumping investigation.