LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE hit 1-1/2 month peaks on Wednesday on signs of tightening supplies and as the Brazilian real remained firm versus the dollar.

A strong real dents exporter selling in top producer Brazil by lowering returns in local currency terms.

COFFEE

July arabica coffee rose 1% to $2.3380 per lb at 1153 GMT, having hit a peak of $2.3540.

ICE arabica stocks continued their descent, falling to 1.06 million bags, their lowest since mid-March.

“Our expectation is for inventories to go down for the remainder of the year and possibly most of next year,” said Rabobank in a note.

The bank added, however: “Will this continue to have an exacerbated price impact. We tend to think it is already priced in.” * July robusta coffee rose 0.8% to $2,126 a tonne, having hit its highest since early May at $2,128.

COCOA

July New York cocoa rose 0.7% to $2,514 a tonne.

Dealers said the market faces inertia ahead of a long weekend in Britain and Europe. They added there is a near term upside bias given speculators might look to cover their extensive short position.

The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) on Wednesday forecast a 174,000 tonne global cocoa deficit in the current 2021/22 season (October-September), down slightly from a previous projection of 181,000 tonnes.

September London cocoa rose 0.6% to 1,776 pounds per tonne.

SUGAR

July raw sugar fell 0.4% to 19.34 cents per lb.

Analysts are increasingly pricing in a surplus this season, and a larger one next.

“We expect sugar prices to come under pressure over the coming months as global production increases and lower oil prices are likely to make it less attractive to produce ethanol,” said Wisdom Tree in a note.

August white sugar fell 0.2% to $571 a tonne.