LONDON: New York cocoa futures fell on Friday, slipping further away from a six-week high, as speculators resumed selling following data that showed an unexpected decline in North American grindings.
COCOA
March New York cocoa was down $42 or 2.1 percent, at $1,942 a tonne by 1243 GMT, retreating further from a six-week high of $2,011 touched on Thursday.
March London cocoa also fell 20 pounds, or 1.4 percent, to 1,383 pounds a tonne.
North American cocoa grindings took a surprise fall in the fourth quarter of 2017 and slipped to a five-year low for the full year.
Although dealers said two fires at a Chicago factory may have been partly behind the decline, the data bucked market expectations for a rise of 1 to 3 percent.
Dealers said the decline, coupled with the market's failure to hold above long-term moving averages a day earlier, had inspired speculative selling in thin volume.
Market participants are now awaiting fourth-quarter grind data from Asia, which were postponed from a scheduled Thursday release.
Strong processing in Malaysia, coupled with a rise in Indonesian cocoa product exports, has boosted expectations for a positive result, said Jonathan Parkman, head of agriculture at Marex Spectron. * "We would expect the Asian grind to be significantly positive against last year," said Parkman.
Dealers said they see Asian processing up 5 to 10 percent.
SUGAR
March raw sugar rose 0.07 cent, or 0.5 percent, to 13.15 cents per lb.
Futures slumped to 13.02 cents on Thursday, their lowest since Sept. 27, partly due to persistent speculative selling.
The market has also been weighed by signs that India, the world's top consumer of sugar, could have excess supplies for export in the 2017/18 season after the Indian Sugar Mills Association raised its production forecasts for the country.
"This news has weighed on sugar prices, given that it was expected that the Indian balance sheet would be largely balanced this season," ING said in a market note.
Sentiment has also been dampened by the possibility of a spike in US ethanol imports into Brazil, as attractive prices already seem to be drawing larger volumes.
March white sugar rose $0.60, or 0.2 percent, to$353.70 a tonne.
COFFEE
March arabica coffee was up 0.35 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $1.2145 per lb.
March robusta coffee was down $3 or 0.2 percent at $1,790 a tonne.
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