LONDON: Robusta coffee on ICE fell for a second day running on Thursday, as the beaten-down market's attempts to find a floor floundered amid persistent concerns over excess supply.
COFFEE
July robusta coffee fell $31, or 2.3pc, to $1,344 a tonne by 1456 GMT, having hit a 2-1/2 week high on Tuesday.
Robusta prices had steadied since hitting a nine-year low of $1,267 earlier this month.
Domestic coffee prices in Vietnam have partially rebounded after hitting the lowest level in six years last week, while shipments from the country are forecast to fall significantly this month.
A dealer said robusta is struggling to find a floor amid excess supply, adding forecasts of falling shipments from Vietnam need to materialise first before prices can firm.
July arabica coffee fell 0.05 cents, or 0.05 pc, to 91.25 cents per lb, having set a 13-year low of 87.60 cents earlier this month.
Brazil's coffee crop is expected to reach 50.9 million 60-kg bags this year, 17 pc below last year's production.
US green coffee stocks rose by 235,239 bags to 6.3 million 60-kg bags by the end of April.
SUGAR
July raw sugar fell 0.07 cents, or 0.6 pc, to 11.77 cents per lb, having closed lower on Wednesday despite several deficit forecasts for 2019/20 made during New York Sugar Week this week.
A global sugar deficit of 6.7 million tonnes is seen developing in 2019/20, following a 401,000-tonne surplus in the previous season, Louis Dreyfus Company said at the event.
Sucden Brazil sees a sugar deficit of 2.5 million tonnes next season on falling Indian and Thai production.
"One could argue that prices have just dropped into a new lower range of 11.50 - 12.50," said a dealer, explaining that while funds are heavily short and there is a good chance of a deficit in 2019/20, stocks are ample and demand remains weak.
Suedzucker said trading conditions are expected to remain tough in the first half of its 2019/20 financial year but an improvement could be in sight from October.
South German sugar beet growers' association VSZ will not support plans by French farmers to make a purchase offer for two sugar factories that Suedzucker is planning to close, saying capacity must be removed to support prices.
ICE August white sugar was down $1.3, or 0.5pc, at $325.10 a tonne.
COCOA
July London cocoa rose 33 pounds, or 1.9 pc, to 1,730 pounds, after hitting a six-week low in the prior session.
July New York cocoa rose $29, or 1.3pc, to $2,351 a tonne, having hit a six-week low in the prior session.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.