Raw sugar closes at 5-month peak, coffee falls

NEW YORK/LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose near 3% to the highest settlement price since March 5 on Wednesday as the market remains positive due to fundamentals.

Arabica coffee futures lost ground after a near 3% rise in Tuesday's session.

COFFEE

December arabica coffee settled down 1.7 cents, or 1.4%, at $1.1935 per lb, returning some of the gains from Tuesday.

Dealers said the market continues to look for a clear direction, with fundamentals bringing both negative and positive indications.

Certified exchange stocks totalled 1.35 million bags as of Aug. 19, sharply down from 2.3 million bags at the same stage last year.

Honduras is by far the largest source of exchange stocks.

ICE certified stocks are washed arabica coffee, typically resulting in higher-quality beans than unwashed. The majority of Brazil's arabica coffee is unwashed.

"The contrast between overwhelming production in Brazil and the decline in washed-coffee production outside of Brazil has never been sharper, and it allows for some price hikes, even though Brazil just harvested the largest crop ever," Rabobank said in a report.

November robusta coffee settled down $12, or 0.9%, at $1,384 a tonne.

SUGAR

October raw sugar settled up 0.35 cents, or 2.7%, at 13.24 cents per lb, the highest settlement price since March 5, as fundamentals remain positive.

Dealers said funds had been extending a large net long position as crop problems in Thailand, Russia and the European Union help to lessen the impact of rising production in Brazil.

"The deficit in these production areas will indeed erase a good part of the Brazilian surplus," analyst Agritel said.

October white sugar settled up $6.30, or 1.7%, at $379.70 a tonne.

COCOA

December New York cocoa settled up $15, or 0.6%, at $2,460 a tonne.

December London cocoa settled down 1 pound, or 0.1%, at 1,672 pounds per tonne.