Arabica coffee falls to 1-1/2 month low, raw sugar climbs

• March arabica coffee was down 3.10 cents, or 2.6%, to $1.1585 per lb at 1313 GMT after touching a 1-1/2 month low of $1.1570.
• March raw sugar was up 0.03 cent, or 0.2%, at 14.10 cents per lb, having touched a peak of 14.21 cents, its highest since Oct. 25, 2018.
• March London cocoa rose 11 pounds, or 0.6%, to 1,891 pounds a tonne, buoyed by the weakness of sterling.

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE slumped to a 1-1/2 month low on Monday, extending their retreat from last month's more than two-year peak, while raw sugar climbed to a 14-month high.

COFFEE

March arabica coffee was down 3.10 cents, or 2.6%, to $1.1585 per lb at 1313 GMT after touching a 1-1/2 month low of $1.1570.

Dealers said weekly CFTC data, issued late Friday, was slightly bearish, with the net long position held by large speculators down less than expected.

Bearish technicals also triggered an early wave of selling, with the next band of support seen around $1.15.

Dealers noted there has been an increase in ICE certified arabica stocks during the last few days after a prolonged decline last year, while there is also a significant volume of coffee awaiting grading.

Premiums for origins such as Honduras in the physical market, however, reduced the likelihood that holders of the coffee would be willing to deliver it against the futures market, they added.

"I think in the short-term momentum and technicals are all that matters," one dealer said, adding, however, fundamentals should provide some support in the medium to long term.

March robusta fell $35, or 2.6%, to $1,310 a tonne.

Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, exported 188,246 tonnes, or 3.14 million 60-kg bags, of coffee in December, up 66.8% from November, customs data showed on Monday.

SUGAR

March raw sugar was up 0.03 cent, or 0.2%, at 14.10 cents per lb, having touched a peak of 14.21 cents, its highest since Oct. 25, 2018.

Dealers said funds continued to add to long positions against the backdrop of tightening supplies, with harvest delays in India and Thailand.

March white sugar rose $4.00, or 1.1%, to $80.80 a tonne.

COCOA

March London cocoa rose 11 pounds, or 0.6%, to 1,891 pounds a tonne, buoyed by the weakness of sterling.

Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 1.259 million tonnes between Oct. 1 and Jan. 12, 2020, exporters estimated on Monday, up 1.9% from 1.235 million tonnes in the same period last season.

ICE Futures Europe said on Friday it had delayed the listing of the December 2021 London cocoa contract until March 17 as it finalises changes to grading and warehousing rules.

March New York cocoa was down $18, or 0.7%, at $2,571 a tonne.