LONDON: Robusta coffee futures on ICE slipped to their lowest in 10 weeks, pressured by speculative selling and waning expectations of a supply squeeze, while cocoa and sugar prices firmed.
COFFEE
November robusta coffee was down $15, or 0.7 percent, at $2,006 a tonne by 1356 GMT, having hit $2,002, the weakest for the second position since June 23.
Dealers said there was short-selling pressure in the market, with speculators driving prices lower.
Sentiment has also been dampened by waning expectations that physical supplies will tighten late in the season, traders said.
"Evidently there isn't the physical supply issue that people were expecting and that has led to a bit of a wobble," said one. "There's a bit of fatigue in the market ultimately."
A sizeable decrease in the September open interest ahead of the start of the delivery period fuelled the downbeat sentiment since it signalled there was potentially less appetite than expected initially.
However, downside potential was seen as limited because the lower prices were reviving buying interest. "A sustained break beneath these levels is unlikely as the industry is happy to absorb cover at these levels," the dealer said.
December arabica coffee fell 0.05 cents, or 0.04 percent, to $1.29 per lb.
COCOA
December London cocoa was up 13 pounds, or 0.9 percent, at 1,532 pounds a tonne.
December New York cocoa rose $11, or 0.6 percent, to $1,958 a tonne.
Prices were boosted when the market climbed over key technical resistance levels, though dealers said that volumes were thin and buyers were reluctant to participate.
Fundamentally, the focus remained on the next crop in top grower Ivory Coast after adverse weather earlier in the season spurred worries about output delays.
"We're still trying to see where the crop development is," said one dealer. "Since then we've had better weather, which has improved the situation, but it's still too early to tell."
SUGAR
October raw sugar was up 0.11 cents, or 0.8 percent, at 13.86 cents per lb.
India will soon allow imports of 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar on the country's southern ports, with a government source pegging the timing within "a day or two".
The world's largest consumer of the sweetener allowed 500,000 tonnes of duty-free imports earlier this season in an attempt to ease a domestic supply squeeze.
October white sugar rose $2, or 0.5 percent, to $376.10 a tonne.
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