LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE hit a 3-1/2 month low on Monday, pressured by surging supplies in top producer Brazil, while coffee futures slid.
Sugar
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March raw sugar dipped 0.2% to 25.04 cents per lb at 1159 GMT, after setting a 3-1/2 month low of 24.58 cents. It had posted a weekly loss of 7% last week.
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Dealers said the weather in Brazil is expected to remain favourable in the near term, the logistics situation is not as bad as previously thought, and technical signals including nearby spreads have turned bearish.
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Speculators cut 19,908 lots off their long position in raw sugar in the week to Nov. 28, and now hold a net long of 121,729 contracts, data showed.
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March white sugar fell 0.4% to $693.90 a metric ton.
Coffee
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March arabica coffee fell 2.8% to $1.7915 per lb, after hitting a six-month peak last week. * Dealers said much-needed rains are expected to pick up pace in Brazil’s coffee areas in the second half of December, improving prospects for what should be a bumper crop next season.
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Honduras’ coffee exports in November soared 62.7% from last year, driven up by shipping commitments from the last harvest as opposed to an increase in demand. The current harvest has been delayed by rains. * January robusta coffee fell 2.4% to $2,467 a metric ton.
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The climate in top robusta producer Vietnam has been favourable for harvesting thanks to cooler temperatures and no rain, meaning the coffee is starting to flow.
Cocoa
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March London cocoa ?edged up 0.1% to 3,503 pounds a ton after setting a fresh record high last week.
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Main crop cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast have fallen 35% in the season to date, exporters estimated on Monday.
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Dealers said, however, that a strong British pound and long liquidation as investors baulk at current price levels are capping gains in cocoa prices for now.
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March New York cocoa rose 0.3% to $4,215 a ton.
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