Arabica coffee hits fresh 6-month low ahead of expected bumper crop

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on the ICE exchange hit fresh six-month lows on Monday, extending losses from last week ahead of a likely bumper crop in top producer Brazil. Cocoa fell but remained above a recent two-year low.

COFFEE

Arabica coffee was down 0.6percent at USD2.9470 per lb at 1308 GMT, after slumping to a six-month low of USD2.9180 earlier in the day. Prices slumped 10percent last week. Coffee is under pressure from widespread forecasts for a bumper, if not record crop in Brazil this year.

Stocks pending grading or certification at ICE warehouses are starting to rise.

Separately, Rabobank noted improved January rainfall across Brazil. Robusta coffee rose 0.8percent to USD3,785 a metric ton, having fallen 9percent last week. A Vietnam-based dealer said farmers in the world’s top robusta grower are holding back sales as local prices have slumped.

COCOA

London cocoa fell 1.5percent to 3,004 pounds a metric ton. The contract gained 5percent last week after hitting two-year lows the prior week. Ghana has about 50,000 metric tons of unsold cocoa sitting at its ports, cocoa market regulator Cocobod said on Friday, adding that it is in talks with farmers and the Finance Ministry on resolving the situation.

Dealers said the unsold cocoa, also a problem in top grower Ivory Coast, is starting to reduce cocoa export volumes, which is in turn helping prices stabilise. New York cocoa lost 1.9percent to USD4,116 a ton.

SUGAR

Raw sugar rose 1.8percent to 14.36 cents per lb, having hit a three-month low of 14.07 last week. Sugar remains under pressure due to excess global supply, though the surplus is expected to shrink next season. White sugar rose 0.5percent to USD406.50 a ton.