Raw sugar hits highest in nearly four year; cocoa mixed
- March raw sugar rose 0.8% to 17.10 cents per lb.
- May New York cocoa rose 0.5% to $2,386 a tonne, having hit its lowest since mid-November on Wednesday.
- May arabica coffee rose 0.5% to $1.2800 per lb as the market continues to recover from Friday's one-month low.
LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE hit their highest in nearly four years on Thursday, buoyed by nearby supply tightness, while New York cocoa recovered after slumping to its lowest since mid-November.
SUGAR
March raw sugar rose 0.8% to 17.10 cents per lb at 1141 GMT, having touched a contract-high of 17.21 cents, the highest price for the sweetener since March 2017.
Dealers said physical tightness should continue to support sugar in the short term, with traders done selling the front-month contract and end users still busy buying.
Commodities group Czarnikow expects global sugar consumption to return to 2019 levels this year as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
Tightness in sugar is being driven by a reduction in Indian production forecasts and poor output in Russia, Thailand and the European Union.
May white sugar rose 0.8% to $465.80 a tonne.
COCOA
May New York cocoa rose 0.5% to $2,386 a tonne, having hit its lowest since mid-November on Wednesday.
May London cocoa dipped 0.1% to 1,750 pounds a tonne.
Dealers said cocoa is likely to remain rangebound for now, with economic recovery hopes offset by excess supplies.
Fitch Solutions said cocoa prices have largely weathered the coronavirus-related decline in consumption and are likely to remain in a range of 1,700-1,900 pounds a tonne over the coming weeks.
The global cocoa market will record a surplus of about 100,000 tonnes in the current 2020/21 season, the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) said.
COFFEE
May arabica coffee rose 0.5% to $1.2800 per lb as the market continues to recover from Friday's one-month low.
Rising hopes of an economic recovery and limited selling from top producer Brazil are putting a floor under prices.
May robusta coffee settled up $9, or 0.7%, at $1,372 a tonne.
The coffee market in top robusta producer Vietnam was tepid on its first trading days after the Lunar New Year break, with no export deals, while Indonesian exporters offered no new contracts owing to depleted supplies, traders said.
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