Arabica coffee prices ease, August whites also weaken

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE eased on Friday, with the outlook for Brazil's 2020 crop remaining favourable despite last weekend's frost, while August white sugar weakened ahead of the contract's expiry next week.

COFFEE

* September arabica coffee was down 0.1 cents, or 0.1%, at $1.0685 per lb by 1417 GMT.

* Dealers said the market had stabilised after falling sharply early this week.

* Prices were underpinned by this week's strengthening in Brazil's real currency. A stronger real tends to discourage selling by Brazilian producers.

* The market touched a seven-month peak of $1.1565 last Friday on fears over forecast frost in top producer Brazil over the weekend but then fell back as early assessments suggested that there had been only minor crop damage.

* September robusta coffee was unchanged at $1,427 a tonne.

* Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, exported 142,448 tonnes, or 2.37 million 60-kg bags, of coffee in June, customs data showed. That was down 2.6% from May.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar was up 0.01 cent, or 0.1%, at 12.39 cents per lb.

* Dealers said ample nearby supplies continued to keep a lid on the market.

* Volume on white sugar futures were boosted by the rolling forward of positions out of the August contract which expires on Tuesday.

* August white sugar fell $7.70, or 2.4%, to $310 a tonne after setting a contract low of $308.60, with dealers noting the potential for a large delivery.

* Open interest, as of Thursday, totalled 22,945 lots or about 1.15 million tonnes of sugar.

* Potential origins included Guatemala, Mexico and Thailand.

* The Brazilian government on Thursday said it had asked the World Trade Organization to establish a panel aimed at resolving its dispute over Indian sugar subsidies.

COCOA

* September London cocoa rose 11 pounds, or 0.6%, to 1,865 pounds a tonne.

* Dealers said Europe's second-quarter grind on Tuesday was likely to indicate whether demand remained strong after a 3.3 percent rise in the first quarter.

* The expiry of the July contract on Tuesday will also provide a focus next week. The front month was trading at a discount to September of about 90 pounds on Friday, down from about 97 pounds at Thursday's close.