Raw sugar hits 1-month low, arabica coffee slides

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE hit their lowest in a month on Thursday on signs of weakening demand as global freight rates soar. Arabica coffee, meanwhile, dropped to its lowest in 2-1/2 weeks.

Sugar

October raw sugar fell 1.6% to 19.17 cents per lb by 1215 GMT, having hit its lowest since early August at 19.14 cents.

Dealers said despite concerns that output in top producer Brazil might plummet by over 6 million tonnes versus last season, demand is falling sharply as soaring freight rates prompt buyers to eat into stocks.

Weak Brazilian output is by now priced in, they added.

India is likely to export 6 million tonnes of sugar in the new marketing year starting Oct. 1 as a rally in global prices has made exports feasible for Indian mills, a leading trade body said.

October white sugar fell 1.4% to $474.70 a tonne.

Robusta sets fresh four-year high, New York cocoa hits nine-month peak

Coffee

December arabica coffee fell 2.3% to $1.8575 per lb, having hit its lowest since late August at $1.8375.

"Major coffee growing regions in Brazil have been greeted with much-anticipated rainfall during the first week of September, providing some relief to the tight balance in coffee after several months of severe drought and frost," said Citi.

November robusta coffee fell 1.5% to $2,046 a tonne, after setting a four-year high on Wednesday.

Coffee prices in top robusta producer Vietnam hovered around a near four-year high this week following cues from international markets. Parts of the coffee belt are under coronavirus movement curbs though farmers said they are allowed to go to their coffee farms and tend to the trees.

Cocoa

December New York cocoa fell 0.4% to $2,674 a tonne, after hitting a nine-month high on Thursday.

December London cocoa lost 0.8% to 1,806 pounds per tonne, after also hitting a nine-month peak on Thursday.