Arabica coffee, NY cocoa slump to multi-month lows

LONDON: Arabica coffee prices on ICE hit a three-month low on Tuesday, weighed down in part by excess supplies, while New York cocoa slid to its lowest level in five months.

COFFEE

* December arabica was down 0.75 cents, or 0.8%, at 94.05 cents per lb at 1404 GMT, after dipping to a three-month low for the second month position at 93.40 cents.

* Dealers said the recent weakness of Brazil's real had weighed on prices. The currency hit a three-month low versus the dollar on Monday and has lost 8% over the past month.

* A weak real allows exporters in Brazil to raise more money in local currency terms when selling dollar-denominated arabica coffee.

* "The market is vulnerable in the short term because the real is low and the funds are short in arabica, but not anywhere near the record shorts," said Carlos Mera, senior commodities analyst at Rabobank.

* The coffee market also continues to absorb excess nearby supplies following a massive harvest in Brazil last year.

* "At some point, the lower 2019/20 (Brazilian) crop will start to have an impact, but this may not happen for several months," Marex Spectron said in a note.

* November robusta fell $10, or 0.8%, to $1,309 a tonne.

COCOA

* December New York cocoa was down $19, or 0.8%, at $2,172 a tonne after slumping to a five-month low of $2,165 amid improving crop weather in West Africa.

* "Ivory Coast is likely to see a record high 2.3 million tons of cocoa harvested in the 2018/19 season. The prospects for the next main crop from October are likewise very good," said Commerzbank in a note.

* December London cocoa fell 20 pounds, or 1.2%, to 1,697 pounds a tonne.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar was down 0.03 cents, or 0.3%, at 11.44 cents per lb.

* The market continues to be weighed down by excess near-term supplies, weakness in the real, worries over poor demand in Asia, and bets that India will announce an extension of its sugar export subsidy system until September 2020.

* "There seems little reason for the market to improve anytime soon while (it) awaits news from India," said a dealer.

* October white sugar was down $1.20, or 0.4%, at $309.20 a tonne.