Liffe July robusta coffee closed $47 lower at $2,435 a tonne on Thursday, weighed down by expectations that large volumes of coffee were en route to Europe from Vietnam. Liffe August white sugar rose $0.40 to close at $639.10 a tonne as large crops from key producers Brazil and Thailand limited gains.
Liffe July cocoa ended 32 pounds lower at 1,890 pounds a tonne as shippers said they had resumed calling at Ivory Coast, taking the country a step closer to exporting cocoa. Dealers said the high prices were causing roasters to buy hand-to-mouth. "I don't think roasters are very well covered. I don't see that changing now that we've broken $3," a European trader said.
The surging futures prices highlighted the limited availability of tenderable coffee, dealers said. "The New York futures market is a huge problem. It doesn't reflect the reality, but no one can go against the funds," a second European trader said. "There's more than enough coffee to fulfil demand ... it's just the crop of tenderable washed arabica coffee is small," the trader said.
Cocoa futures eased in light volumes, with eyes on top producer Ivory Coast as dealers awaited the resumption of exports and news about the condition of the mid crop. "Now the question is what will the arrivals be like in the next few weeks from the mid crop," said Keith Flury, a soft commodities analyst with Rabobank in London. "The talk is that there is good supply from the mid crop - some 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of beans should make it to the ports - so the price risk is to the downside." "We expect the steadiness (in prices) to continue in the short term, but believe that, ultimately, supplies will increase and producer hedging will become heavier," said Nick Penney of brokerage Sucden Financial.