LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE were lower on Wednesday, weakened partly by a decline in energy prices, while London cocoa and arabica coffee prices also fell.
SUGAR Raw sugar fell 2.3percent to 15.16 cents per lb by 1415 GMT, slipping further from Monday’s five-month high of 16.10 cents. Dealers said an improving outlook for production in key exporter Thailand had helped to keep a lid on prices although some analysts have been downgrading forecasts for India.
Global sugar production is forecast to reach 184.5 million metric tons in the 2025/26 season that started in October, the second-highest on record, despite cuts to India’s production, supply-chain services provider Czarnikow said on Tuesday.
White sugar lost 2.2percent to USD438.60 a metric ton.
COCOA
London cocoa fell 1.2percent to 2,457 pounds per metric ton, slipping back slightly after jumping 23percent in March. Dealers said the run-up had been fuelled partly by fund short covering.
They said demand remained weak but may start to pick up in the second half of this year. The key focus in coming days is likely to be first-quarter grind data.
European and North American reports are both scheduled to be issued on April 16. A decline is expected in Europe of perhaps 2percent to 4percent while a steeper drop of 10percent to 12percent is anticipated in North America. New York cocoa rose 0.5percent to USD3,318 a ton.
COFFEE
Arabica coffee lost 2percent to USD2.9225 per lb. Dealers said expectations of a large and possibly record crop in Brazil this year remained the main bearish factor. Robusta coffee rose 0.6percent to USD3,513 a ton. Indonesia’s exports of Sumatra robusta coffee beans dropped to 12,921 metric tons in February, a 25.4percent decrease from a year earlier, local trade office data showed on Wednesday.
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