London cocoa prices weaken, arabica coffee climbs

LONDON: London cocoa on ICE Futures Europe slipped on Friday towards the 7-week low hit in the prior session, as a generally favourable crop outlook in top grower Ivory Coast continued to weigh on prices.

Cocoa

March London cocoa fell 0.45% to 1,764 pounds a tonne by 1036 GMT, after hitting a 7-week low of 1,755 pounds on Thursday.

Dealers noted recent dry, sunny weather had improved the outlook for production in Ivory Coast.

They noted, however, that demand has rebounded after falling during the COVID-19 pandemic and much could depend on whether the recovery will be sustained.

"Global demand has continued to recover strongly and we therefore expect that the price will hold steady for the rest of 2021 before rising in 2022 and beyond," Fitch Solutions said in a note on Friday.

December New York cocoa fell 0.7% to $2,537 a tonne.

London cocoa hits two-week low; sugar and coffee firm

Coffee

December arabica coffee rose 1.2% to $2.0580 per lb.

Dealers said the market was supported by the disruption to the flow of coffee out of Brazil, driven partly by high freight costs and a shortage of available container shipping capacity, which had contributed to a drawdown in exchange stocks.

ICE certified arabica coffee stocks stood at 1.91 million bags, as of Oct. 21, down from 2.16 million a month earlier.

Funds had also been increasing a net long position.

January robusta coffee was up 1.1% at $2,157 a tonne.

Sugar

March raw sugar rose 0.4% to 19.01 cents per lb, edging away from a three-week low of 18.82 cents set earlier this week.

Dealers said the recent strength of energy prices was providing some support, potentially leading to more use of cane to produce biofuel ethanol in Brazil rather than sugar.

December white sugar rose 0.1% to $501.10 a tonne.