London cocoa hits three week low amid excess supplies

LONDON: London cocoa futures on ICE hit a three week low on Wednesday amid excess supplies, while robusta coffee was not far off Tuesday's four year high.

COCOA

December London cocoa rose 0.3% to 1,763 pounds per tonne at 1050 GMT, having hit its lowest since Aug 11 at 1,755.

The International Cocoa Organization on Tuesday forecast a global cocoa surplus of 230,000 tonnes in the current 2020/21 season, up from a previous projection of 165,000 tonnes.

Citi said last month it sees a cocoa surplus of 300,000 tonnes this season, but added the market is likely to be a bit more balanced in 2021/22 as demand rebounds and supply growth ebbs or even reverses.

December New York cocoa rose 0.4% to $2,549 a tonne at.

Robusta coffee sets four-year high while sugar slips

COFFEE

November robusta coffee rose 1.2% to $2,050 a tonne, after hitting the highest since September 2017 on Tuesday at $2,070.

There is strong substitution demand for robusta at the moment due to the recent surge in prices for arabica coffee after frost damage to top producer Brazil's crop.

Robusta supplies are tightening meanwhile amid shipping congestion and coronavirus lockdowns in top producer Vietnam.

Indonesia's Lampung province, a key robusta producing region, exported 6,250.69 tonnes of the bean in August, down 70.5% from the same month last year, data showed.

December arabica coffee rose 0.8% to $1.9740 per lb after touching a one-month high of $2.0155 on Tuesday.

Raw sugar sets 4-1/2 year peak; cocoa also climbs

SUGAR

October raw sugar rose 0.5% to 19.94 cents per lb.

Dealers said sugar will likely consolidate after failing to break above August's 4-1/2 year high, with weak demand offsetting the decline in output from top producer Brazil after dry weather and frost damage.

October white sugar rose 0.6% to $486.20 a tonne.

Ukraine is likely to increase its white sugar output from sugar beet by about a third to 1.4 million tonnes, the economy ministry said.