Coffee hits one-year low

Arabica coffee futures slipped to a one-year low on Thursday, as the commodity complex moved down a shade and cocoa changed direction to finish weak for the second straight day. Sugar futures were mixed as dealings remained choppy. Supply concerns prevented the arabica market from falling further. March arabica coffee on ICE dropped 0.3 cent to $2.1770 per lb by 12:18 pm EST (1718 GMT), the lowest for the second position since December 16, 2010.
The contract dipped to $2.1725 on Wednesday, a one-year low for the second month. "Fundamentally, there are still supply concerns in the coming months, particularly questions over crops from Latin America," said Andrea Thompson, an analyst with CoffeeNetwork.
The market remained underpinned by a recent scaling-back of some forecasts for Brazil's 2012/13 crop following a prolonged spell of dry weather. Consensus amongst international coffee trade houses for Brazil's coming crop is around 56 million to 57 million 60-kg bags, down from previous expectations for the crop to exceed 60 million, while forecasts in top washed arabica grower Colombia have also recently dropped. March robusta coffee on Liffe fell $10 to $1,902 a tonne, having touched $1,887 earlier in the session, the lowest level for the second month since late November.
ICE raw sugar futures edged up but remained within striking distance of the prior session's 6-1/2-month low, climbing in modest business on buying by small investors due to a weaker dollar, analysts said. Benchmark March sugar futures traded up 0.06 cent to 22.86 cents a lb. The contract fell to 22.30 cents on Wednesday, the lowest level for the front month since June.
March white sugar futures on Liffe reversed down 60 cents to $597.10 per tonne in modest volume around 3,500 lots. March cocoa on ICE settled down $29, or 1.3 percent, at $2,151 a tonne. March set a contract low of $1,983 on Monday but rebounded to a peak of $2,274 on Wednesday. May cocoa on Liffe reversed to end down 28 pounds, or 1.9 percent, at 1,412 pounds a tonne in light volume around 1,600 lots.