Sugar falls for fifth straight session, London cocoa near two-week low
LONDON: Raw sugar prices on ICE fell for a fifth straight session on Friday to hit their lowest in more than a week, while London cocoa recovered after hitting a near two-week low.
SUGAR
* July raw sugar fell 0.03 cents, or 0.2%, to 12.40 cents per lb at 1024 GMT.
* Prices hit a 1-1/2 month high last Friday but have been retreating this week as a short-covering rally runs out of steam, with positive factors seen priced in for now.
* One dealer said substantial volumes of Thai sugar still need to be sold, with buyers refusing to budge even as Thai sellers reduce their offers. "It would seem unlikely prices will improve too much at the moment," he said.
* Sugar was supported in the first half of this month by dry weather in India, a top sugar grower, and surging corn prices .
* Corn is an alternative feedstock to cane for making ethanol, and increased production of cane-based ethanol means less cane for making sugar.
* US corn futures moved back towards a five-year high on Friday, but sugar prices failed to find support, with reduced fears over India's monsoon weighing on prices.
* August white sugar fell $2.9, or 0.9%, to $328.80 per tonne.
COCOA
* September London cocoa rose 20 pounds, or 1.1%, to 1,832 pounds per tonne, recovering from a near two-week low of 1,809 pounds hit earlier.
* Cocoa continues to consolidate after hitting an 11-month high last Wednesday, as top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana announced plans to set a floor price for their beans.
* "The idea we're going to have this floor price underpinned the market, but its a fair way out and the details on how its going to work are still sketchy. Meanwhile the basic fundamentals are fairly balanced," said a dealer.
* Ivory Coast's cocoa mid-crop is expected to reach 600,000 tonnes, while Ghana's mid-crop is seen falling to between 120,000 and 130,000 tonnes versus 250,000 tonnes last year.
* September New York cocoa rose $27, or 1.1%, to $2,473 per tonne.
COFFEE
* September arabica coffee fell 0.6 cents, or 0.6%, to 101.20 cents per lb as the market consolidated after touching a one-week high on Thursday and settling up nearly 4%.
* Limiting losses in coffee, the dollar headed for a big weekly loss after a dovish shift by the US Federal Reserve. A weak dollar makes dollar-priced commodities like coffee cheaper for holders of other currencies.
* Coffee plunged 5.3% last week amid renewed concerns about oversupply in top grower Brazil and a technical market structure that rewards sellers.
* September robusta coffee rose $33, or 2.4%, to $1,405 per tonne.