Coffee pares losses, sugar falls

Arabica coffee futures finished lower on Friday, pressured along with the commodity complex by flat US jobs growth, but losses were pared by momentum from the previous 18 straight days of session highs. Raw sugar also was pressured by the US employment report. The bleak jobs data fed fears there will be recession, which weighed on the commodity complex.
Cocoa futures closed slightly higher in choppy dealings, with upside potential limited by expectations of ample global supplies in 2010/11. US commodity markets will be shut Monday for Labour Day and ICE softs volume was light ahead of the holiday. Arabica's losses were limited as Brazilian producers were reluctant to sell as they felt confident that the market was well supported by tight supplies of washed beans. Profit-taking after the market rose about 23 percent the past few weeks weighed, dealers said.
Harvesting of top producer Brazil's crop is near completion and output is expected to come in at the low end of expectations, which is helping support prices, dealers said. Market consensus is for a Brazil 2011 crop of around 46-48 million 60-kg bags.
December arabica coffee on ICE fell 1.70 cents to finish at $2.8805 per lb, breaking the streak of 18-straight session highs. On Thursday, it hit a near four-month high at $2.9085. November robusta coffee on Liffe was off $50, or 2.2 percent, to close at $2,275 per tonne. "Any time it gets up to 30 cents, it finds a new round of selling," said The Price Group analyst Jack Scoville. "Sugar just refuses to get with the program to the upside." The market digested news that China's sugar demand could outpace output by more than 2 million tonnes in the year to September 2012 after a prolonged drought hit the growing region.
October raw sugar futures on ICE dropped 0.41 cent, or 1.4 percent, to settle at 29.18 cents a lb, while October white sugar futures on Liffe fell $9, or 1.2 percent, to end at $753.80. ICE cocoa futures were slightly higher, supported by an expected fall in world cocoa production in 2011/12, as the coming crop in West Africa faces less favourable weather than in the previous season. Gains were limited by a record global cocoa surplus in 2010/11. December cocoa on ICE settled up $23 at $3,098 per tonne, while Liffe December cocoa closed up 6 pounds at 1,951 pounds a tonne.