SOFTS-Raw sugar prices edge up, cocoa also climbs

• A total of 242,000 tonnes of mostly Indian white sugar has been tendered against the May contract on ICE Futures Europe, exchange data showed on Thursday.
• Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut said on Thursday it has to date not experienced any major disruption to its production operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUGAR

May raw sugar was up 0.06 cent, or 0.6pc, at 10.22 cents per lb at 1109 GMT. The front month had fallen to a 1-1/2 year low of 9.96 cents on Wednesday.

Dealers said the market had held up comparatively well on Wednesday in view of the sharp losses in crude oil and there were signs that the selling pressure in sugar may be beginning to subside.

August white sugar rose $3.50, or 1.1pc, to $335.20.

A total of 242,000 tonnes of mostly Indian white sugar has been tendered against the May contract on ICE Futures Europe, exchange data showed on Thursday.

COCOA

July London cocoa was up 19 pounds, or 1.1pc, at 1,769 pounds a tonne.

Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut said on Thursday it has to date not experienced any major disruption to its production operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Gourmet sales volumes are impacted by government restrictions on the access to shops and restaurants," the company said, adding there were signs of a strong demand recovery in China.

Ghana's graded and sealed (G&S) cocoa arrivals stood at 693,000 tonnes as of April 2 since the season's start on Oct. 1, figures from marketing board Cocobod showed on Thursday, down from 699,000 tonnes in the previous season.

July New York cocoa rose $17, or 0.8pc, to $2,246 a tonne.

COFFEE

July arabica coffee fell 0.6 cents, or 0.5pc, to $1.2060 per lb.

Brazilian coffee producers have already closed forward sales for 30.8pc of the 2020/21 arabica coffee crop and 14pc of the robusta crop, the head of government farm statistics agency Conab said on Wednesday.

July robusta coffee fell $9, or 0.75pc, to $1,197 a tonne.

Coffee trading in Vietnam remained frozen even as the government eased a 15-day lockdown for some parts of the Southeast Asian country, while fresh beans had started to come in Indonesia, traders said on Thursday.