Raw sugar recovers from previous session's 4pc plunge

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE recovered on Friday as the market rebounded from the previous session's 4% plunge, with more gains likely thanks to continued fund appetite for commodities.

SUGAR

March raw sugar rose 1% to 15.77 cents per lb by 1308 GMT. It had closed with a 4% loss on Thursday after touching a 3-1/2 year peak of 16.33 cents.

Dealers said the market is consolidating before attempting another move higher as funds continue to bet on a global economic recovery and are broadly optimistic about agricultural commodities, especially those with tightening supplies.

They added, however, that exports from India, a top producer, will cap the expected rally.

Indian sugar mills are aggressively signing export contracts after New Delhi approved a subsidy for overseas sales and as global prices hit their highest in 3-1/2 years.

Sugar supplies are expected to remain tight at least until April, when output in top producer Brazil may start to pick up.

March white sugar rose 0.7% to $435.90 a tonne.

COFFEE

March arabica coffee fell 1.4% to $1.2130 per lb after hitting its lowest in nearly a month.

Rising certified exchange stocks and renewed weakness in Brazil's real currency are weighing on coffee.

March robusta coffee fell 1.3% to $1,319 a tonne, having slipped to its lowest in nearly a month.

COCOA

March New York cocoa fell 0.6% to $2,474 a tonne under pressure from worries over weakening demand because of coronavirus lockdowns.

Top cocoa producer Ivory Coast exported 177,293 tonnes of raw cocoa beans from the start of October to end of November last year, down 24.1% from a year earlier.

Ivory Coast's exports of semi-finished cocoa products for the same period rose about 38.2% year on year to 79,149 tonnes.

March London cocoa fell 0.8% to 1,642 pounds a tonne.