LONDON: New York cocoa futures rose to a one-month high on Wednesday, boosted partly by expectations that upcoming fourth quarter grind data will provide further evidence that demand is beginning to pick up.
COCOA
March New York cocoa was up $33, or 1.7 percent, at $1,932 a tonne at 1507 GMT after climbing to a one-month high of $1,956.
"We're heading into the grinds next week. Everyone is quite positive about them," a dealer said, noting Europe's Q4 grind was seen rising by three to five percent, year-on-year, while an increase of at least five percent was seen in Asia and one to two percent in North America.
Europe's fourth quarter grind is scheduled to be released on Monday while North American data is expected to be issued on Jan. 18.
"There is a massive spec short position and they are probably bound to cover a little bit before the grind is released. And ... you've got the shooting in the Ivory Coast, which just tells you that there's still tension, even if it's very localised events," the dealer added.
Soldiers in Ivory Coast's second largest city looted weapons from the base of an elite military unit overnight before setting it on fire, leaders of the faction said on Wednesday.
March London cocoa was up 18 pounds, or 1.3 percent, at 1,394 pounds a tonne.
SUGAR
March raw sugar fell 0.14 cent, or 1.1 percent, to 14.57 cents per lb.
Dealers said the market had risen in early January ahead of an expected wave of buying linked to fund rebalancing but the market's subsequent performance had been weaker than expected.
"Everyone was on the front foot in advance (of the fund rebalancing) but the market hasn't done as well as expected," one dealer said.
"Maybe some of the hot air that was in the market has dissipated," the dealer said, adding producer selling above 15 cents had helped to cap the recent rally.
March white sugar was down $2.90, or 0.7 percent, to $386.70 a tonne.
COFFEE
March robusta coffee was down $6, or 0.35 percent, at $1,718 a tonne although the market remained well above Tuesday's 1-1/2 year low of $1,672.
World coffee output is seen rising to a fresh record in 2017/18 as a recovery in robusta production offsets a decline in the arabica variety, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) said on Tuesday.
March arabica coffee was off 1.25 cents, or 1.0 percent, at $1.2390 per lb.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.