Sugar, coffee prices fall amid broader commodity market weakness

NEW YORK/LONDON: ICE raw sugar futures fell on Wednesday, but still managed to pull away from the previous session's 7-1/2-month low, while coffee and cocoa prices were lower amid broader commodity market weakness.

The 19-market Thomson Reuters Core Commodity Index was at its lowest in a week.

SUGAR

* July raw sugar settled down 0.19 cent, or 1.6%, at 11.62 cents per lb after earlier touching a one-week high of 11.95 cents.

* In the previous session, prices had fallen to a 7-1/2-month low of 11.36 cents before reversing course to close higher.

* The market continues to be pressured by plentiful supplies and large global stockpiles, dealers said.

* Lower oil prices were also a bearish influence. Oil futures tumbled more than 2% as an unexpected build in U.S. crude stockpiles compounded investor worries that a prolonged trade fight between Washington and Beijing could dent global demand.

* Lower oil prices can encourage cane mills in top-producer Brazil to produce more sugar rather than ethanol biofuel.

* August white sugar settled down $3.50, or 1.1%, at $322.80 per tonne.

* Chinese white sugar futures, meanwhile, had their biggest daily dip in nine months after a Brazilian trade association said it expects exports to China to recover this year.

* Brazil will no longer seek a panel at the World Trade Organization to investigate China's sugar trade policies, the Brazilian government said on Tuesday.

COFFEE

* July arabica coffee settled down 1.15 cents, or 1.2%, at 91.75 cents per lb after hitting a three-week high of 93.85 cents.

* The market erased some of the previous session's gains, when the contract climbed over 3% on a short-covering rally on the backs of early concerns about cold weather in Brazil.

* "I'm not saying that we won't have a frost (in Brazil) ... but there's no legitimate frost scare in May," said Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors.

* Rabobank forecast a 5.4 million 60-kg bag global coffee surplus in 2018-19 but a 1.8 million bag surplus for 2019-20 in a quarterly report issued on Wednesday.

* "Lower prices should result in lower 2019-20 washed arabica crops, whereas for robustas, availability is now higher due to excellent weather," the bank said.

* July robusta coffee settled down $3, or 0.2%, at $1,361 per tonne.

COCOA

* July New York cocoa settled down $33, or 1.4%, at $2,413 per tonne, after trading within the previous session's range.

* The contract hit a six-week peak on Tuesday at $2,353 per tonne.

* London July cocoa settled down 10 pounds, or 0.6%, at 1,761 pounds per tonne.