LONDON: Cocoa futures rose sharply on Friday, boosted partly by stronger than expected second-quarter grinding data from North America and Asia, while sugar and coffee prices also firmed.
COCOA
ICE London cocoa rose 6% to £4,270 a metric ton by 1111 GMT.
Cocoa processing in North America rose in the second quarter to 109,659 tons, up 7.7% from the same period last year, National Confectioners Association data showed on Thursday.
Dealers had expected the grind to be little changed.
The news followed a stronger than expected 25.1% increase in Asia’s second-quarter grind, though bullish sentiment was tempered by a 4.6% fall in Europe.
A total of 37,370 tons of cocoa was tendered against the ICE July London cocoa contract, exchange data showed on Friday.
New York cocoa gained 5.8% to $5,822 a ton.
SUGAR
Raw sugar rose 1.5% to 14.66 cents per lb, with a rise in energy prices providing some support.
White sugar gained 1.5% to $461.20 a ton.
A total of 293,050 tons of mostly Thai white sugar has been tendered against the August contract on ICE Futures Europe, exchange data showed on Friday.
COFFEE
ICE arabica coffee was up 0.7% at $3.1490 per lb.
Dealers said the market continues to derive support from El Nino weather conditions.
“El Nino’s confirmed persistence into early 2027 has drawn attention to the flowering and cherry-setting stages of the 2027 crop, where hotter, drier conditions in Brazil’s arabica regions pose a risk to yields,” BMI analysts said in a note.
Robusta coffee gained 1.8% to $3,867 a ton.