Cocoa futures slip to two-week low, raw sugar edges up

LONDON: Cocoa futures in both New York and London fell to a two-week low on Thursday weighed by hedge selling and concerns about weak demand, while raw sugar prices were slightly higher.

COCOA

March New York cocoa was down $23, or 0.9%, at $2,481 a tonne at 1203 GMT after dipping to a two-week low of $2,478 a tonne.

Dealers said hedge selling related to trade in Ivorian cocoa in the physical market had helped to exert downward pressure on prices.

A slowdown in demand driven by the COVID-19 pandemic also remained a bearish influence with chocolate makers seeing reduced impulse purchases and out-of-home consumption.

March London cocoa fell 12 pounds, or 0.7%, to 1,708 pounds a tonne after slipping to a two-week low of 1,703 pounds.

SUGAR

March raw sugar rose 0.03 cents, or 0.2%, to 15.83 cents per lb.

Dealers said the market has lost upward momentum after climbing to the highest in more than 3-1/2 years earlier this month but there remained solid support around 15.50 cents.

India is likely to produce 30.2 million tonnes of sugar in 2020/21, nearly 2.6% less than previously forecast, after cane field yields and the rate of sugar extracted fell in key states, a leading trade body said on Thursday.

March white sugar fell $0.30, or 0.1%, to $444.10 a tonne.

Germany's second largest sugar refiner Nordzucker on Thursday said it has returned to profit as the EU sugar market recovered and following a cost-saving programme.

COFFEE

March arabica coffee rose 0.2 cents, or 0.2%, to $1.2570 per lb.

March robusta coffee was down $5, or 0.4%, at $1,313 a tonne.

Vietnam's domestic coffee prices remained little changed on Thursday from a week earlier, as the country's harvest came to an end, traders said on Thursday.