LONDON: Cocoa futures on ICE fell around 5percent on Friday, heading for a third consecutive week of losses, while raw sugar steadied after touching a three-week low.
COCOA
London cocoa fell 4.3percent to £4,227 per ton at 1326 GMT. A dealer said this season’s surplus is weighing on prices, plus there are fears that the recent run-up in prices dented demand in the third quarter.
Elsewhere, rains in West Africa have been sparse of late, but against that the market is expecting a buildup in supplies at ports as the new marketing season gets underway. Ivory Coast has said cocoa shipments are expected to accelerate in the coming weeks as a new marketing system gets underway, with nearly 26,000 tons having already arrived at ports between the season start on September 1 and September 13.
New York cocoa fell 4.9percent to USD5,603 a ton, having hit a 1-1/2-month low of USD5,530 earlier.
SUGAR
Raw sugar rose 0.4percent to 17.49 cents per lb, after setting a three-week low of 17.34 cents. Oil prices edged lower, tempting cane mills to produce more sugar and less of the biofuel ethanol. Rains in top grower Brazil are forecast to subside over the next 10 days or so, dealers said, lessening the risk of disruption to crush. Elsewhere, China’s August sugar imports fell 13.5percent to 650,000 tons, data showed.
In India, meanwhile, the government has relaxed the sugar stockholding limit for bulk consumers from 15 to 30 days, and urged traders to pass on lower ex-mill prices to consumers. White sugar rose 0.4percent to USD510.50 a ton.
COFFEE
Arabica coffee rose 0.6percent to USD2.7825 per lb, after hitting a 2-1/2-month low of USD2.7505. Coffee is under pressure overall from an increase in ICE arabica stocks, increased Brazilian exports and beneficial weather in Brazil and Vietnam. Robusta coffee rose 0.5percent to USD3,407 a metric ton.
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