Arabica coffee erases previous session's gains as frost fears dwindle

NEW YORK/LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE fell on Tuesday, erasing the previous session's gains as concerns about cold, frost-inducing weather in top-grower Brazil began to fade.

COFFEE

* September arabica coffee settled down 1.65 cent, or 1.6%, at 99.50 cents per lb, nearly erasing the previous session's 1.4%-gain.

* Prices slipped as concerns about the potential for a crop-damaging frost in top-grower Brazil dwindled, dealers said.

* "Freezing temperatures reach towards the edges of Parana this weekend, but major frost threats ... remain on the lower side," weather forecaster Radiant Solutions said in a note.

* A forecast from Somar Meteorologia on Monday highlighting frost risk in the states of Parana and Minas Gerais helped buoy prices in the previous session.

* A frost scare in early July sent prices to 2019 highs, but they have since fallen as the crop damage from the frost appeared minimal and market focus returned to plentiful Brazilian supplies.

* "There's oversupply, funds are shorting again, it's difficult to get constructive," said one dealer.

* September robusta coffee settled down $17, or 1.2%, at $1,354 per tonne.

COCOA

* September New York cocoa settled down $4, or 0.2%, at $2,379 per tonne, having hit its lowest since early June on Monday.

* September London cocoa settled up 6 pounds, or 0.3%, at 1,847 pounds a tonne, underpinned by weak sterling.

* The British pound plunged to a more than two-year low against the dollar as investors scrambled to factor in the risk of a no-deal Brexit.

* The weakness of the pound is encouraging arbitrage selling of New York versus London cocoa, dealers said.

* Cocoa arrivals at ports in top producer Ivory Coast reached 2.127 million tonnes for the Oct. 1 to July 28 period, exporters estimated, up about 9% year on year.

* Cocoa output in Ghana, the world's second largest producer, has reached 794,841 tonnes so far this season, or about 88% of its 900,000-tonne forecast

SUGAR

* October raw sugar settled up 0.08 cent, or 0.7%, at 12.15 cents per lb, supported by firmer oil prices which encourage cane mills to produce ethanol rather than sugar.

* This was the contract's fifth positive finish in six sessions, though market participants are uncertain as to its ability to break out of its recent range.

* The market has been caught between signals of plentiful near-term supplies, such as massive deliveries of sugar against ICE futures contracts and large global stockpiles, and signals of a drop in future global production.

* October white sugar settled up $0.9, or 0.3%, at $323 per tonne.