Raw sugar futures on ICE fell to a three-week low on Thursday as the weakening real currency in top-grower Brazil spurred producer selling while rising production data there also weighed on prices. Arabica coffee on ICE Futures US turned higher on roaster buying after falling to a 3-1/2-week low, while cocoa rose in a volatile session that moved in both directions in a wide $105 range.
March ICE raw sugar futures fell 0.34 cent, or 2 percent, to 16.16 cents a lb, after dropping as low as 16.13 cents a lb, their lowest since October 3. Sugar output in Brazil's center-south region rose 4 percent in the first half of October from the previous two-week period to 2.37 million tonnes, largely in line with expectations, data from industry association Unica showed.
"It's probably going to lead to some adjustment of peoples' final cane numbers upwards," said Michael McDougall, a senior vice president at brokerage Newedge USA in New York. The output increase came despite the fact that 22 mills had ended harvest by mid-October, compared with six at this point last year.
The sweetener was also under pressure from a weak Brazilian real currency, which slid to its weakest level since December 2008 as polls showed leftist incumbent President Dilma Rousseff with a lead over market-friendly challenger Aecio Neves ahead of Sunday's runoff election. A weaker real spurs producer selling, since Brazilian exporters receive more local currency for sales of the dollar-denominated commodity.
Raw sugar is on pace for its first weekly decline in five weeks. December white sugar fell $1.30, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $423.10 a tonne. December arabica coffee settled up 0.22 cent, or 1.2 percent, at $1.9330 a lb, reversing on roaster buying after touching a 3-1/2 week low at $1.8930 a lb early in the session, said Stephen Platt, futures specialist at Archer Financial Services in Chicago.
Expectations of a weak coffee 2015/16 crop due to dry weather in top-grower Brazil earlier this month have supported prices, but forecasts for rain sent prices below $2.00 a lb this week. January robusta coffee fell $17, or 0.8 percent, settling at $2,022 a tonne. ICE December cocoa settled up $7, or 0.2 percent, at $3,120 a tonne, after trading in a wide range due to a series of buy-stops triggered early in the session, sending prices up $53 in one minute.
The settlement price continued a streak of sideways trading as the market remained concerned that the deadly Ebola virus could spread to top grower Ivory Coast. London March cocoa futures settled up 5 pounds, or 0.3 percent, at 2,003 pounds a tonne.
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