Raw sugar hits one-month low as funds sell amid weak demand

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE hit a one-month low on Monday as signs of weak demand persisted and funds continued to liquidate long positions.

Sugar

October raw sugar fell 0.1% to 18.77 cents per lb by 1153 GMT, having hit its lowest since early August at 18.57 cents.

ICE raw sugar speculators cut their net long position by 2,466 contracts to 189,471 in the week to Sept 7.

"It looks as if (sugar) demand has gone down even faster than supply, so even after losing 6.5-7.0 million tonnes of supply in CS Brazil, we are still going to end the year with a surplus," broker Marex Spectron said.

It added, however, that sugar is bullish longer term because of the probability of a poor cane crop from Brazil next year and adverse weather elsewhere, coupled with a possible increase in demand as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

October white sugar, which expires on Wednesday, rose 1.2% to $470.10 a tonne.

Pakistan has issued an international tender to purchase 200,000 tonnes of white sugar, European traders said.

Raw sugar hits 1-month low, arabica coffee slides

Coffee

December arabica coffee fell 1% to $1.8620 per lb, having hit its lowest since late August at $1.8375 on Thursday.

ICE arabica coffee speculators raised their net long position by 2,690 contracts to 36,511 in the week to Sept 7.

November robusta coffee fell 0.4% to $2,040 a tonne.

No damage has been reported so far from Tropical Storm Conson in the main coffee region of top robusta producer Vietnam.

Cocoa

December New York cocoa rose 1.2% to $2,634 a tonne.

ICE New York cocoa speculators raised their net long position by 2,612 contracts to 4,336 in the week to Sept 7.

December London cocoa rose 0.7% to 1,792 pounds a tonne

Main cocoa crop arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 2.142 million tonnes between Oct. 1 and Aug. 31, up 4.8% year on year.

Ivory Coast cocoa grinders processed 54,000 tonnes of beans in August, up 20% year on year.