Arabica coffee prices rebound, sugar edges up

Arabica coffee futures on ICE edged higher on Wednesday, with the second month rebounding from the 13-year low hit in the prior session, while sugar edged higher. May arabica coffee settled up 1.65 cent, or 1.7 percent, at 97.65 per lb, after trading entirely within the previous session's range.
In the previous session, prices plunged to a 13-year low of 94.65 cents. A weaker Brazilian real, following a larger-than-expected drop in industrial output in January, helped keep a lid on coffee's recovery, dealers said. Prices still had room to the downside and 92 cents, the front month's mid-September low, could be the next objective, one US dealer said.
The market continues to struggle to absorb excess supplies following a record-large crop in top grower Brazil. Brazilian green coffee exports totaled 3.142 million 60-kilo bags in February, up 40.5 percent year on year, according to a statement from industry group Cecafé.
May robusta coffee settled down $7, or 0.5 percent, at $1,518 per tonne. May raw sugar settled up 0.03 cent, or 0.2 percent, at 12.36 cents per lb. Marex Spectron analyst Robin Shaw said the market was towards the lower end of a 12 to 14 cent range.
"The probability that we are close-ish to the bottom, at least from a fundamental point of view, is confirmed by some new buying from important buyers like China, Bangladesh, Iran," he said. Brazil's center-south sugar production in the new cane crop that starts in April was forecast at 29.7 million tonnes, sharply higher than an initial estimate of 26.4 million tonnes seen in October, consultancy Datagro said.
May white sugar settled down 80 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $339.30 per tonne. The French government asked Suedzucker to review its plans to scale down three sites in France, stating French workers should not have to bear the brunt of a restructure by the German sugar maker after an industry slump.
French sugar group Tereos said it had appointed Stephanie Billet as its new chief financial officer as part of a strategy to adapt to changes in the European sugar industry. May New York cocoa settled down $1, or 0.1 percent, at $2,216 per tonne. May London cocoa settled down 7 pounds, or 0.4 percent, at 1,677 pounds per tonne. The prospect of a larger crop in top grower Ivory Coast remained a key bearish influence with port arrivals running about 10 percent above last season.