Raw sugar hits two-month low, cocoa and coffee also weaken

23 Jul, 2019

SUGAR

October raw sugar was down 0.05 cents, or 0.4pc at 11.51 cents per lb at 1335 GMT, having fallen to a two-month low of 11.45 cents.

Dealers said the recent large deliveries against July raws and August whites had heightened concerns about excess supplies and weak demand in Asia.

Concern about crop outlooks in India and Thailand, however, have helped to underpin the market.

"Indian dam levels remain below average for this time of year, and dryness in northern Thailand is also causing some crop stress," broker Marex Spectron said in a market note.

October white sugar was down $3.20, or 1pc, at $311.90 a tonne.

COCOA

September New York cocoa was down $39, or 1.5pc, at $2,493 a tonne.

Dealers said a stronger dollar helped trigger a modest pullback after a steady rise in prices during the last few days.

The main focus remained on the implementation of a new pricing mechanism for the 2020/21 season in Ivory Coast and Ghana with details on how it will work in practise still unclear.

September London cocoa fell 10 pounds, or 0.5pc, to 1,856 pounds a tonne.

Rains were below average last week in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa growing regions and more sun was needed for the October-to-March main crop to develop well, farmers said on Monday.

COFFEE

September arabica coffee was down 2.25 cents, or 2.1pc, at $1.0285 per lb after dipping to a four-week low of $1.0240.

Dealers said the decline was driven partly by the weakness of Brazil's real currency. A weaker real can encourage producer selling as it increased prices of dollar-denominated prices in local currency terms.

September robusta coffee was down $14, or 1pc, at $1,379 a tonne.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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