Arabicas fall from 34-year peak; sugar crumbles

ICE arabica coffee futures settled strong but pared early gains that hoisted it to a 34-year high in thin dealings on Thursday, bolstered by investor buying as the dollar sank to a three-year low. Raw sugar finished down but off a 6-1/2-month low hit earlier, pressured by ample supplies from Brazil and Thailand, while cocoa surged in heavy volume as options-related dealings forced shorts to scramble for cover.
Liffe's London-based commodity markets are shut on Friday and Monday due to UK public holidays, reopening on Tuesday. The key July arabica coffee futures surged to a new 34-year top of $3.0340 per lb, buoyed by the weak dollar, tight supplies of high-quality beans and strong charts.
ICE July arabica coffee futures went up 2.80 cents to finish at $2.9920 per lb. Total volume reached just over 13,000 lots, over a third below from the 30-day norm, preliminary Thomson Reuters data showed. Liffe July robustas rose $19 to finish at $2,555 a tonne, having earlier hit a contract high of $2,572.
Raw sugar futures on ICE tumbled, weighed by expectations of ample production of the sweetener from Brazil and Thailand and the possibility of further unrestricted exports by India. ICE May raw sugar futures tumbled 0.63 cent or 2.6 percent to end at 23.92 cents a lb. Open interest fell to 30,314 lots on April 27, the equivalent of 1.54 million tonnes of sugar and down roughly 20,000 lots from the previous day.
Key July sugar fell 0.45 cent, or 2 percent, to close at 22.51 cents, having hit a 6-1/2-month low at 21.94. "The sugar market's going down on momentum," the New York dealer said, adding demand was lower than expected. London August white sugar fell $11.40 or 1.8 percent to settle at $615.10 per tonne.
ICE's key July cocoa futures soared $112, or 3.5 percent, to settle at $3,280 per tonne, the highest settlement for the second position since March 14. Total volume jumped to above 23,000 lots, the highest in two weeks. Liffe July cocoa jumped 54 pounds or 2.8 percent to finish at 1,981 pounds per tonne.