Robusta coffee slips to five-week low, cocoa also down

LONDON: Robusta coffee futures fell to a five-week low on Thursday with the harvest picking up pace in Vietnam and strong shipments from Brazil ensuring that supplies remain ample.

COFFEE

March robusta coffee futures were down $9, or 0.7pc, at $1,325 per tonne by 1237 GMT after hitting a five-week low of $1,317.

The harvest is now about 20 to 25pc complete in Vietnam with the weather favourable and production now likely to drop less than previously anticipated.

Dealers also noted shipments of both robusta and arabica coffee from Brazil in November were well above the same month last year.

March arabica coffee rose 0.4 cents, or 0.3pc, to $1.1745 per lb.

COCOA

March New York cocoa was down $11, or 0.4pc, at $2,538 a tonne after dipping to a low of $2,522, the weakest since Nov. 18.

Dealers said price charts were looking more bearish after the recent decline while rains this week in top producer Ivory Coast look set to improve the outlook for the mid-crop.

March London cocoa fell 7 pounds, or 0.4pc, to 1,718 pounds a tonne.

Dealers said the market continued to keep a close watch on currency movements with a lack of progress in talks between Britain and the EU on a potential trade deal weighing on sterling.

SUGAR

March raw sugar fell 0.21 cents, or 1.3pc, to 14.76 cents per lb.

Dealers said the market was awaiting the release later on Thursday of cane crush data for Centre-South Brazil covering the second half of November with sugar production expected to be around 500,000 tonnes.

March white sugar fell $5.20, or 1.3pc, to $404 a tonne.