Cocoa climbs on Asia grind data, arabica hits 13-year low

LONDON: London cocoa futures on ICE rose to an 8-week high on Wednesday, buoyed by strong grindings data from Asia, while arabica coffee fell to a fresh 13-year low as the market struggled to absorb excess supplies.

COCOA

July London cocoa rose 32 pounds, or 1.8 percent, to 1,767 pounds per tonne by 1245 GMT after climbing to an 8-week high of 1,769 pounds.

Cocoa processing in Asia rose 9.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019 from a year earlier to 208,388 tonnes, data from the Cocoa Association of Asia showed on Wednesday.

The news followed a 3.3 percent rise in the European first quarter grind, reported on Tuesday.

"The rise is on the back of grind data. The Asian grind is up fairly solidly following yesterday's European grind," one London dealer said.

Dealers noted prices in London cocoa were also supported by the market's structure, with front month May trading at a premium of around 76 pounds to July with talk about tightness in available supplies to tender.

July New York cocoa was up $42, or 1.8 percent, at $2,388 per tonne.

COFFEE

July arabica coffee was down 1.5 cents, or 1.6 percent, at 91.45 cents per lb after dipping to a low of 91.30 cents, the weakest for the second month in more than 13 years.

Dealers said the market remained on the defensive with supplies plentiful and the arabica harvest in top producer Brazil set to start gathering pace next month while price charts were also seen as bearish.

"The (technical) indicators suggest we could see lower prices in the near-term," Sucden Financial technical analyst Geordie Wilkes said in a market note, adding the break below July's previous low of 91.75 cents brought 90 cents "into play."

July robusta coffee fell $9, or 0.6 percent, to $1,422 a tonne.

SUGAR

May raw sugar rose 0.02 cent, or 0.2 percent, to 12.53 cents per lb.

Dealers said the market lacked a clear trend with prices currently around the middle of this month's range for the May contract of 12.29 cents to 12.84 cents.

August white sugar was up $0.30, or 0.1 percent, at $336.200 a tonne.

Dealers noted the whites premium remained weak, hurting the profitability of standalone refineries.

"The pressure is coming from a large exportable surplus of low quality white sugar from India, which is threatening to make its way onto the world market, along with Thai refined sugar," ING said in a market note.