Markets

Arabica coffee slides to 1-1/2 month low, cocoa also plunges

  • Rains are expected in Brazil coffee areas from April 4, which could improve conditions for final stage of beans growth before the harvest.
Published March 31, 2021

NEW YORK/LONDON: Arabica coffee fell to a 1-1/2 month low on ICE on Tuesday, while cocoa futures also plunged, with both commodities showing weak technical signs amid improving weather conditions in the main producing countries.

Raw sugar closed unchanged.

COFFEE

May arabica coffee settled down 4.45 cents, or 3.5pc, at $1.226 per lb?, the lowest price since ?Feb. 16.

Dealers said technical signs were weak after recent weakness.

"Price action remains weak in New York... selling came on what appeared to be fund and other speculator selling due to a stronger dollar," said a U.S.-based broker, adding that the cash coffee market has also been weak.

Rains are expected in Brazil coffee areas from April 4, which could improve conditions for final stage of beans growth before the harvest.

May robusta coffee settled down $28, or 2.0pc, at $1,348 a tonne.

SUGAR

May raw sugar closed unchanged at 14.92 cents per lb, after slipping on Monday to a three-month low of 14.84 cents.

"Despite somewhat lower production in Brazil, forecasts expect more sugar to be produced globally in 2021/22: in India, there are many signs ... and the EU and Thailand are expected to see an improvement after the latest poor harvests," said Commerzbank in a note.

The bank added there were also concerns near term about demand given ongoing lockdowns in Europe.

Ethanol prices fell sharply in Brazil's largest consuming market last week as coronavirus lockdowns hurt demand.

Falling ethanol prices tend to tempt Brazilian mills to prioritize sugar production at the expense of the cane-based biofuel.

May white sugar ??settled down $1.30, or 0.3pc, at $429.80 a tonne.

COCOA

May New York cocoa ??settled down $89, or 3.7pc, to $2,347 a tonne, having hit its lowest since mid-November at $2,336 earlier in the session.

May London cocoa ??settled down 43 pounds, or 2.5pc, to 1,691 pounds per tonne?.

Above average rains mixed with sun last week in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa-producing regions have bolstered expectations for a strong April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said.

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