LONDON: Raw sugar futures fell to a 2-1/2 year low on Monday, extending a prolonged slide driven by global oversupply, while London cocoa rose slightly on a weaker pound.
SUGAR
May raw sugar was down 0.09 cents, or 0.8 percent, at 11.55 cents per lb by 1155 GMT after slipping to 11.52 cents, the lowest price for the front month since September 2015.
Dealers said the market remained weighed by the prospect of a large global surplus in the 2017/18 season, driven partly by rising production in India and Thailand.
Low sugar prices have, however, been prompting mills in Brazil to use more cane to produce ethanol, though the extent of the switch could be undermined by a drop in Brazilian prices for the renewable fuel.
"Ethanol prices (in Brazil) have collapsed, and with them the expectation of a much greater ethanol mix," broker Marex Spectron said in a report on Monday.
August white sugar fell $4.70, or 1.4 percent, to $337.70 a tonne.
COCOA
July London cocoa was up 3 pounds, or 0.2 percent, at 1,832 pounds a tonne, boosted by the weakness of sterling against the dollar.
July New York cocoa was down $14, or 0.5 percent, at $2,715 a tonne.
Boosting cocoa processing in Ivory Coast is central to improving the sustainability of the country's cocoa sector, the top grower's trade minister Souleymane Diarrassouba said on Monday.
COFFEE
July arabica coffee was up 1.15 cents, or 1 percent, at $1.1885 per lb, pulling further away from last week's low of $1.1530 on Tuesday, the weakest for the second month since March 2016.
Dealers said the market continued to experience sporadic short-covering rallies, but the prospect of a huge crop in Brazil this year should limit the scope of rebounds.
Speculators boosted their net short position in arabica coffee contracts on ICE Futures US to a record high in the week to April 17, US government data showed on Friday.
Marex Spectron has forecast a global coffee surplus of 5 million 60kg bags in 2018/19, driven by rising production in Brazil.
July robusta coffee was up $11, or 0.6 percent, at $1,770 a tonne.
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