Raw sugar hovers near 10-month low, cocoa weakens

Raw sugar futures edged lower on Friday, hovering near Thursday's 10-month low as technical support lagged and buying remained subdued, while cocoa and coffee also slipped. May raw sugar settled down 0.05 cent, or 0.30 percent, at 16.76 cents per lb. Futures fell sharply in the previous session to a fresh 10-month low of 16.58 on chart-based selling.
Amid mostly negative technical signals, dealers noted support was fragile and any rally off the lows could trigger a fresh round of selling. "The trend continues lower despite the markets being oversold," said Nick Penney, senior trader at Sucden Financial. "We anticipate a move down to 16 cents in the absence of any bullish weather or fundamental news to shake the shorts out of their comfort zone."
With a surplus in the 2017-18 season now largely expected, the focus is on weather in Brazil's Center-South cane region and the possibility of an El Ni?o developing in time to affect India's crop-friendly monsoon. The market was also monitoring top consumer India, which is expected to make a decision on whether to cut import tariffs in a bid to offset lower production this season. May white sugar settled down $1.80, or 0.38 percent, at $477.20 per tonne.
May London cocoa settled down 4 pounds, or 0.24 percent, at 1,679 pounds per tonne and May New York cocoa finished down $1, or 0.05 percent, at $2,095 per tonne. The market has been weighed this week, after a rally driven by speculators rushing to cover a large net short position ran out of steam. "Cocoa is trying to put a longer-term bottom together," said Jack Scoville, a senior vice president with Price Futures Group in Chicago.
Cocoa prices recently touched multi-year lows amid worries about oversupply. ICE May arabica coffee finished unchanged from the previous session at $1.393 per lb. May robusta settled down $12, or 0.56 percent, at $2,149 per tonne. "London robusta prices have been soft, and that's hurting New York (prices) this week," said Scoville. The market was monitoring weather in Brazil amid forecasts for some light crop-friendly rains in coffee regions that have been plagued by dry conditions recently.