Robusta coffee hits five-week high, cocoa and sugar also up

LONDON: Robusta coffee futures on ICE rose on Thursday, climbing to a five-week peak, buoyed partly by the recent strength of arabica prices, while cocoa and sugar were also higher.

COFFEE

Robusta coffee gained 0.9% to $4,738 a metric ton by 1100 GMT, after setting a five-week high of $4,744.

Arabica coffee was up 0.75% at $4.24 per lb. The market set a five-week high of $4.27 on Wednesday.

Dealers noted arabica prices had derived support from a prolonged decline in exchange stocks.

ICE certified arabica stocks stood at 465,910 bags, as of October 22, down 2,500 bags from a day earlier. A month earlier they stood at 643,341 bags.

The Fengshen storm made landfall in top robusta producer Vietnam on Wednesday but did not directly hit the coffee-growing area and has now weakened to a depression.

“It is not the peak of the harvest yet, so rains at this point would not do much harm,” said a trader based in Vietnam’s coffee belt.

Vietnam’s coffee harvest should start to gather pace next month.

COCOA

London cocoa was up 0.1% at 4,576 pounds per ton, after setting a three-week high of 4,618 pounds.

Dealers said some industry buying following a prolonged fall in prices between mid-August and mid-October had helped the market recover some ground this week.

The market has also derived support from a slow start to the main crop season in top grower Ivory Coast and concerns about the poor quality of some of the cocoa.

New York cocoa rose 0.5% to $6,327 a ton.

Arabica coffee sets five-week high, cocoa also climbs

SUGAR

Raw sugar gained 1.2% to 15.28 cents per lb.

White sugar rose 0.7% to $437.70 a ton.