LONDON: Cocoa futures on ICE hit fresh five-month peaks on Thursday, lifted by concerns El Nino weather conditions could curb 2026/27 production, while arabica coffee and sugar fell.
COCOA: London cocoa rose 3.3 percent to £3,877 per metric ton at 1446 GMT, after setting a five-month high of £3,954.
“El Niño worries, forecasts of delays in the upcoming Ivorian and Ghanaian main crops, as well as the (Ivorian cocoa regulator) halting 2026/27 forward sales have supported prices,” said broker StoneX.
Limiting gains however, dealers said cocoa remains technically overbought and market players are growing uncertain about further near term gains.
“Considering the shift in fundamentals, the recent uptrend has been understandable, but we remain bearish as we still anticipate a surplus in 2026/27 and view El Niño risk premiums as somewhat overpriced,” said Rabobank.
New York cocoa gained 3.6 percent to USD5,151 a ton. It earlier hit a five-month high of USD5,260.
COFFEE: Arabica coffee fell 1.9 percent to USD2.7185 per lb, having hit a near six-week high of USD2.8480 per lb on Wednesday.
Recent El-Nino linked rains in top grower Brazil have led to some quality issues and slowed harvest progress.
Cooxupe, Brazil’s top coffee co-operative, said its farmers had harvested 20.1 percent of their 2026 crop as of June 19, compared with 24.3 percent a year earlier.
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