Coffee and sugar prices slip as Brazil currency tumbles

ICE arabica coffee futures fell on Thursday, weighed by a sharp decline in Brazil's real currency that could encourage sales ffrom the world's top producer The December contract was off 4.70 cents or 2.8 percent at $1.6530 per lb at 1500 GMT. The Brazilian real fell 5 percent against the dollar in spot market trading amid worries about a potential trade shock under US President-elect Donald Trump.
Dealers said Brazil has been exporting arabica at a faster pace than last year after harvesting a bumper crop and the weak real would increase the incentive for producers to sell in local-currency terms. "They (Brazil) are shipping huge amounts," one dealer said. January robusta coffee fell $21 or 1.0 percent to $2,112 a tonne. Dealers said rains had slowed the early part of the harvest in top robusta producer Vietnam but drier weather is expected and could begin to gather pace around Sunday or Monday.
"At the moment only isolated areas have started. I think with these prices they will look to sell pretty much as soon as they pick," one dealer said. Robusta futures rose to a two-year high early this week. Raw sugar also fell, with the weak real seen as bearish because Brazil is the world's top sugar producer and exporter.
March raws were off 0.41 cent or 1.85 percent at 21.70 cents per lb. "We're in the range of 21 to 24 cents," one dealer said, adding the market remained underpinned by tightening supplies. "There is still a (bullish) sugar story and in the next six months, until the next Brazil crop comes on line, there are still chances that this market can jump higher." December whites fell $5.20 or 0.9 percent at $577.10 a tonne. New York cocoa futures touched a fresh three-year low, with an improving crop outlook in Ivory Coast helping to keep the market on the defensive.
March New York cocoa fell $14 or 0.6 percent to $2,437 a tonne after dipping to a low of $2,434, the weakest for the second position since September 2013. Plentiful sun and rain last week in Ivory Coast's main cocoa-growing regions will improve the quality and size of the main crop, farmers said on Monday. Dealers said sluggish demand was also weighing on prices. March London cocoa futures fell 11 pounds or 0.5 percent to 2,012 pounds a tonne.