Sugar hits 1-week low on risk-off sentiment; cocoa, coffee fall

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE hit their lowest in a week on Friday, retreating further from last week's 3-1/2 year peak as risk-off sentiment in the wider financial markets reduced fund buying.

Cocoa and coffee also fell.

SUGAR

March raw sugar fell 0.9% to 15.92 cents per lb at 1411 GMT, having hit a one week low of 15.80.

Dealers said a fund-driven rally has faded, but there was unlikely to be a price collapse, with funds eager, on balance, to resume buying and the price retreat likely to inspire bargain-hunting by end-users.

Sugar output in top producer Brazil is projected to fall by 6% in the 2021-22 season following below average rains last quarter, commodities trader and supply chain services provider Czarnikow said.

March white sugar fell 1% to $446 a tonne.

COCOA

March London cocoa fell 1.4% to 1,717 pounds per tonne.

Cocoa exporters in the world's top grower Ivory Coast are switching to cheaper contracts for later delivery and buying less in the face of a glut they blame on a scheme to charge a $400-per-tonne cocoa premium to relieve farmer poverty.

March New York cocoa fell 1.9% to $2,501 a tonne.

COFFEE

March arabica coffee fell 1.5% to $1.2455 per lb, though losses were limited by tightening supplies.

Brazil's coffee output is seen falling by up to 30.5% this year to 43.8 million 60 kg bags, a report by the country's food supply and statistics agency Conab showed.

On the downside, ICE certified coffee stocks have risen to 1.57 million bags, their highest since last August.

March robusta coffee fell 0.2% to $1,320 a tonne.