LONDON: Cocoa futures on ICE fell to two-month lows on Tuesday with most expecting a substantial global surplus in the 2025/26 season that is set to start next week.
Cocoa
London cocoa lost 0.7% to 4,912 pounds a metric ton by 1116 GMT after setting a two-month low of 4,874 pounds.
Dealers said origin hedge-selling ahead of the start of the 2025/26 season had put downward pressure on prices.
The prospect of a further delay in the implementation of the EU’s anti-deforestation law was also viewed in the market as bearish.
Cocoa is one of the commodities covered by the legislation and the delay will alleviate concerns it could disrupt the flow of supplies into the European Union.
New York cocoa was down 0.2% at $6,988 a ton after hitting a two-month low of $6,896.
Cocoa slumps to two-month low, coffee and sugar rise
Coffee
Arabica coffee lost 1.9% to $3.4130 per lb.
Dealers said rains in Brazil had improved the outlook for next year’s crop which is currently in the flowering stage.
They noted underlying support was expected at around $3.35 per lb.
Robusta coffee fell 2.1% to $4,189 a ton.
Sugar
Raw sugar rose 0.1% to 15.27 cents per lb, edging away from an earlier 2-1/2 month low of 15.10 cents.
Dealers said the strong preference for mills in Brazil to use cane to make sugar rather than ethanol seemed to have continued this month, adding to supplies of the sweetener.
Favourable cane crop prospects for Asian producers including India and Thailand have also weighed on prices.
White sugar was up 1.1% at $456 a ton.