LONDON: New York cocoa futures were lower on Friday with next week’s European grind data expected to show that demand remains weak, while sugar and arabica coffee also fell.
COCOA
New York cocoa fell 0.7percent to USD6,033 a metric ton by 1200 GMT, slipping back after rising by 2.7 percent on Thursday Traders noted fourth-quarter grinding data should provide a focus this month, with European data scheduled to be issued on January 15. There have been year-on-year declines in the past five quarters after a sharp rise in prices in 2024.
Dealers said the market was underpinned by buying related to New York cocoa’s addition to the Bloomberg Commodity Index. There is expected to be a total of about 30,000 to 40,000 lots of index-related buying from January 8 to January 14. Dealers estimated that purchases on the first day of the window totalled about 4,000 to 5,000 lots. London cocoa was down 0.5percent at 4,348 pounds a ton.
COFFEE
Arabica coffee lost 1.3percent to USD3.6760 per lb, extending the market’s retreat from the prior session’s three-week high of USD3.8385.
Dealers were keeping a close watch on tensions between the world’s top coffee consumer, the United States, and its top suppliers Brazil and Colombia after the US military operation in Venezuela.
Coffee production in Colombia, the world’s leading supplier of washed arabica coffee, fell by 2.27 percent in 2025 to 13.6 million 60-kg bags, its first decline in three years, the National Federation of Coffee Growers said on Thursday. Robusta coffee was up 1.45percent at USD3,985 a ton.
SUGAR Raw
sugar fell 0.9 percent to 14.84 cents per lb. Dealers said a rise in output in India was contributing to a likely global surplus in the current 2025/26 season and some exports from the world’s number two producer are taking place. White sugar lost 0.9percent to USD424.10 a ton.