Raw sugar falls close to one-month low; cocoa and coffee also retreat

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE hit their lowest in nearly a month on Monday as the outlook for supplies from Brazil improved, oil prices fell and the Brazilian real weakened against the dollar.

SUGAR

May raw sugar ??fell 1.5% to 18.95 cents per lb by 1308 GMT after hitting its lowest since late March at 18.92 cents.

Dealers said that a weaker Brazilian real and lower crude prices mean that the sugar/ethanol split in top producer Brazil is unlikely to change much from last season, helping to ensure adequate supplies.

Falling energy prices tend to prompt cane mills in Brazil to produce less ethanol, a cane-based biofuel, and more sugar.

A weak Brazilian real tends to encourage Brazilian sugar exporters to sell dollar-priced sugar by raising returns in local currency terms. Brazil is not a major ethanol exporter so a weak real does not encourage exporters to sell the fuel.

Limiting losses in sugar, soft drinks maker Coca-Cola , a major sugar consumer, beat quarterly revenue expectations thanks to higher prices and a rebound in demand.

ICE raw sugar speculators reduced their net long position by 7,976 contracts to 119,115 in the week to April 19, data showed.

August white sugar fell 2% to $520 a tonne.

COCOA

July New York cocoa fell 1.5% to $2,515 a tonne, having hit its lowest since mid-March at $2,506.

Cocoa is under pressure from data showing that first-quarter grindings, a measure of demand, fell in North America and Asia.

ICE New York cocoa speculators cut their net long position by 4,603 contracts to 10,220 in the week to April 19.

July London cocoa fell 1% to 1,753 pounds a tonne?.

COFFEE

July arabica coffee fell 2% to $2.2255 per lb.

ICE arabica coffee speculators cut their net long position by 7,524 contracts to 22,094 in the week to April 19.

July robusta coffee fell 1.8% to $2,079 a tonne.