Arabica coffee hits 4-1/2 year high, sugar also up

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE climbed to a 4-1/2 year high on Friday, boosted by expectations that supplies will tighten over the next few months, while raw sugar prices also rose.

COFFEE

• July arabica coffee rose by 4.25 cents, or 2.7%, to $1.596 per lb by 1058 GMT after setting a 4-1/2 year high of $1.6075 earlier in the session.

  • Dealers said the market was supported by the prospect of a significant drop in production in Brazil this year, an off-year in the country's biennial crop cycle.

  • Drier-than-normal weather in Brazil has further dented the crop outlook and the harvest is off to a slow start with many cherries not yet ripe enough.

  • July robusta coffee rose by $29, or 1.9%, to $1,546 a tonne.

SUGAR

• July raw sugar rose by 0.27 cent, or 1.6%, to 17.39 cents per lb after setting a two-week high of 17.49 cents.

• Dealers said the front month's discount to October had narrowed to around 0.04 cent from 0.07 cent at the close on Thursday, possibly reflecting interest from the trade in taking delivery when July expires at the end of this month.

• The prospect of a small global deficit in the 2021/22 season should, however, keep a lid on prices.

• August white sugar rose by $4.60, or 1%, to $462.10 a tonne.

COCOA

• September London cocoa fell by 3 pounds, or 0.2%, to 1,628 pounds a tonne.

• Dealers said supplies remained ample with the market awaiting the release of an updated 2020/21 balance forecast by the International Cocoa Organization, expected to be issued before the end of this month.

• The ICCO, in its last quarterly update in late February, forecast a surplus of 102,000 tonnes for 2020/21.

• September New York cocoa fell by $5, or 0.2%, to $2,463 a tonne.