LONDON: Cocoa futures were lower on Wednesday, weighed down partly by the weakness of New York's December contract ahead of Thursday's first notice day, while sugar prices also slipped with the focus on the expiry of the December whites contract.
COCOA
March New York cocoa was off $38, or 1.8 percent, at $2,117 a tonne at 1446 GMT, extending its retreat from last week's 10-month high of $2,226.
Dealers said the weakness of December ahead of its first notice day on Thursday contributed to the decline. The front month slumped to a discount of about $50 to March at one stage after trading at a premium of more than $30 a week ago.
"New York has taken a big hit on Dec/Mar as they finalise positions ahead of first notice day tomorrow and it doesn't help the overall confidence in the market when the structure is falling out of bed," one dealer said.
Dealers said rains in top grower Ivory Coast could lead to disease pressures for the main crop but could also improve prospects for the mid-crop later in the season.
March London cocoa was off 30 pounds, or 1.8 percent, at 1,603 pounds a tonne.
Olam reported a 17.5 percent rise in third-quarter net profit but said its cocoa business continued to experience headwinds with margin pressure for both the cocoa bean and products-trading business, even as its processing business performed well.
SUGAR
March white sugar fell by $2.50, or 0.6 percent, to $390.30 a tonne.
Dealers said the main focus on Wednesday was the expiry of the December contract.
A small delivery is expected, with open interest of only 1,843 lots (92,150 tonnes) and further liquidation of positions taking place on Wednesday.
"That would normally make it something of a non-event, but there is still a fair amount of speculation (and differing opinions) as to the origin of the sugar that will be delivered," James Liddiard, of consultancy Agrilion, said in a market note.
Possible sources for tenderable sugar include Argentina, Brazil, Central America, the European Union and Ukraine.
March raw sugar was off 0.09 cents, or 0.6 percent, at 15.01 cents per lb.
Dealers said the market continued to struggle to overcome stiff resistance around 15.20 cents, with advances stalling at 15.18 cents on both Monday and Tuesday.
"We continue to expect a test of 15.20 but remain pessimistic of any more substantial medium-term upside momentum developing," said Tom Kujawa, co-head of the softs department at Sucden Financial.
COFFEE
March arabica coffee fell by 1.35 cents, or 1 percent, to $1.2910 per lb.
January robusta coffee rose $3, or 0.2 percent, to $1,839 a tonne.
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