Markets

Arabica coffee extends losses to 2005 low, raw sugar drops further

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COFFEE

* December arabica coffee settled down 1.45 cent, or 1.5 percent, at 95.85 cents per lb, after falling to 95.10 cents, its lowest since December 2005.

* Prices settled below $1.00, which was a key psychological support level, for the third straight session.

* Ample supplies weighed on the market, dealers said. The government of top grower Brazil raised its forecast for its 2018 coffee crops to a record 59.9 million 60-kg bags, citing bountiful yields.

* This forecast was in line with expectations, traders said.

* "For now, the specs are in control and it's going lower," said one European dealer. "We've seen them increase their short position."

* Continued weakness in Brazil's currency remained in focus, as it encourages producer selling of dollar-traded commodities.

* The relative strength index (RSI) fell below 30, indicating a technically oversold level.

* "It is somewhat oversold in terms of the RSI ... but there is no indication that the selling is over yet," said Steve Platt, futures strategist at Archer Financial Services.

* November robusta coffee settled up $13, or 0.9 percent, at $1,492 per tonne.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar settled down 0.11 cent, or 1 percent, at 10.52 cents per lb, after touching 10.43, its lowest level in more than two weeks.

* Prices tumbled 9 percent the past two sessions on concerns over a possible surge of exports from second-largest producer India, which is considering new export incentives.

* "India has the potential to flood the world market with considerable quantities of sugar," Commerzbank said in a note. "This is currently nipping any hint of price buoyancy in the bud."

* Prices settled below 10.63, the short-term 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement level and key technical support level, and moved toward last month's 10-year low of 9.91 cents. Prices also fell below the 20- and 40-day moving averages.

* "The bulls will want to see a settlement back above these levels to avoid a further round of selling being triggered," James Liddiard of consultancy Agrilion, said in a note.

* December white sugar settled down $1, or 0.3 percent, at $329.10 per tonne.

COCOA

* December New York cocoa settled up $6, or 0.3 percent, at $2,242 per tonne.

* December London cocoa settled up 7 pounds, or 0.4 percent, at 1,592 pounds per tonne.

Copyright Reuters, 2018