Sugar and coffee futures fall on large fund selling
- December white sugar settled down $2.30, or 0.6%, at $382.60 a tonne.
- December New York cocoa settled up $12, or 0.5%, to $2,444 a tonne.
- November robusta coffee settled down $27, or 2.1%, at $1,233 a tonne.
NEW YORK/LONDON: Raw sugar and arabica coffee futures closed down on ICE on Monday as speculators liquidated some of their long positions in several agricultural commodities and the dollar weakened.
Cocoa futures were mixed.
SUGAR
March raw sugar settled down 0.39 cents, or 2.7%, at 13.84 cents per lb, after climbing to a 7-1/2 month peak of 14.55 cents earlier in the session.
Dealers said speculators, who hold a multi-year high long position in sugar, liquidated some of those longs reacting to the dollar weakness.
India and Brazil remain the focus of the market, they said. In Brazil, the question is if current rains will provide enough moisture for cane fields to recover after an extreme dry spell.
India has yet to announce the extent to which it will subsidise sugar exports, with talk the decision could be delayed until early next month. Any reduction in Indian exports would tighten global supplies.
December white sugar settled down $2.30, or 0.6%, at $382.60 a tonne.
COCOA
December London cocoa settled down 16 pounds, or 0.9%, to 1,673 pounds per tonne.
Dealers said third-quarter European grind data, expected to be issued on Thursday, would be closely watched to see if demand remains weak due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second quarter European grind showed a 8.9% fall, year-on-year.
December New York cocoa settled up $12, or 0.5%, to $2,444 a tonne.
COFFEE
December arabica coffee settled down 2.4 cents, or 2.2%, at $1.0915 per lb, interrupting a short recovery when prices rose in the last four sessions on ICE.
Dealers said the market is looking for direction in a moment of uncertainty regarding future production in top producer Brazil and how the pandemic evolves in the northern hemisphere as the winter approaches.
Brazilian coffee fields received rains over the weekend after a prolonged dry spell that put the key flowering period at risk.
"Will there be enough rain for the trees to recover? How big is the next Brazilian crop going to be?" a Sao Paulo-based trader asked.
November robusta coffee settled down $27, or 2.1%, at $1,233 a tonne.
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