LONDON: London cocoa climbed to a three-week peak on Thursday, boosted partly by expectations that there may be a slow start to the harvest in top-grower Ivory Coast, while coffee prices fell.
COCOA London cocoa rose 4.6percent to £4,434 a metric ton by 1052 GMT after setting a three-week high of £4,450 earlier in the session. Dealers said an expected decline in cocoa production in Ivory Coast in the upcoming season should help create a more balanced market after a large surplus in the current 2025/26 season, while an anticipated slow start to the harvest in the world’s top grower could help limit short-term supplies.
Ivory Coast’s Coffee and Cocoa Council is concerned a delayed start to the 2026/27 main cocoa crop could lead to port congestion as exporters rush to ship before stricter European Union deforestation rules take effect at the year-end, industry sources said. New York cocoa gained 4.4percent to USD6,085 a ton.
Arabica coffee was down 3.6 percent at USD3.1040 per lb. The market has fallen back sharply after setting a six-week high of USD3.4565 on Tuesday. Dealers said the market remained underpinned by short-term supply tightness, with certified stocks continuing to decline and expected to slump to a 26-year low in the coming days.
Exchange stocks stood at 224,617 bags as of August 26, down from 229,214 bags a week ago. At the same time last year, stocks stood at 717,113 bags. Robusta coffee lost 2.1percent to USD3,537 a ton. SUGAR
Raw sugar rose 0.4percent to 17.67 cents per lb. Dealers said rains had slowed the cane harvest in the Centre-South region of Brazil while some mills have been seeking to use more cane to make biofuel ethanol rather than sugar.
Brazil’s sugar output in the country’s key center-south region is forecast to post declines in the first half of August, according to a survey of 11 analysts by S&P Global Energy’s Platts unit. White sugar fell a marginal 0.04percent to USD513.80 a ton.