Raw sugar dips amid easing tightness in refined supplies

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE fell on Thursday as easing tightness in refined, white sugar supplies overshadowed demand recovery hopes linked to encouraging results from coronavirus vaccine trials.

Coffee and cocoa steadied, meanwhile.

SUGAR

October raw sugar was down 0.05 cents, or 0.4%, at 12.11 cents per lb at 1515 GMT, after testing but failing to breach resistance at 12.25 cents on Wednesday.

August white sugar fell $6.90, or 1.9%, to $349.40 a tonne, with the discount for August versus October sugar widening, meaning the recent supply tightness has all but disappeared.

Dealers said that, given the situation in the whites market, there was little fundamental reason for raws to gain despite improved sentiment in the wider financial markets.

World stocks rose for a fourth day amid encouraging coronavirus vaccine trials and bets on a record rebound in US jobs figures. Oil prices also gained. [MKTS/GLOB

COFFEE

September arabica coffee was down 1.2 cents, or 1.1%, at 102.90 cents per lb, after a sharp run-up earlier in the week.

Honduran coffee exports dropped 29.6% in June from a year earlier after farmers cut production because of drought and low global prices.

Dealers said recent falls in Central America exports signalled poor demand, though cuts to production in response to low prices should help balance the market.

September robusta coffee fell $9, or 0.8%, to $1,195 a tonne.

Trade in Vietnam's coffee market ground to a virtual halt this week due to a lack of beans, while domestic prices in Indonesia fell as supplies continued to rise, traders said.

COCOA

September London cocoa rose 23 pounds, or 1.4%, to 1,624 pounds a tonne, having plumbed 15 month lows on Wednesday on worries over weak demand and collapsing nearby premiums.

Europe's second quarter grind, a proxy for demand, is provisionally due to be issued on July 16.

September New York cocoa rose $23, or 1.1%, to $2,193 a tonne after Wednesday's 15-month trough.