Tuesday, 14 July 2015 16:47
LONDON: Cocoa futures on ICE held steady on Tuesday after second-quarter European cocoa grind data at the high end of expectations while sugar and coffee were little changed.
Europe’s second-quarter cocoa grind, a measure of demand, rose 0.6 percent from the same period last year to 309,677 tonnes, the European Cocoa Association said.
Dealers had told Reuters they expected the European grind to be down between by between 1 percent and 5 percent year on year.
Front-month London and New York cocoa futures edged slightly higher in early trading after the data.
“Our view was that the base for the grind last year was so bad that it would be very unlikely that the grind for this quarter would be down,” said Jonathan Parkman, joint head of agriculture at broker Marex Spectron.
“If it (grind) is slightly better than expected, it is only insignificantly better.”
September London cocoa was up 2 pounds, or 0.1 percent, at 2,208 pounds a tonne by 1001 GMT, having touched 2,212 pounds on Monday and Tuesday, the highest since March 2011. September New York cocoa was up $ 9, or 0.3 percent, at $ 3,314 a tonne, near last month’s nine-month peak. Germany’s second-quarter cocoa grind rose 7.6 percent from the same period last year to 88,773 tonnes, Germany’s BDSI association of confectionery producers said.
Dealers turned their attention to the North American grind expected on Thursday, with most forecasts pegging the drop in the bean grind at 5 percent from last year.
The latest bearish cocoa port arrivals data from top grower Ivory Coast had little market impact, Parkman said.
Exporters estimated that about 29,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state’s two ports of Abidjan and San Pedro between July 6 and July 12, up from 23,000 tonnes during the same period last year. Raw and white sugar futures inched higher in light volumes, underpinned by a soft dollar, with traders eyeing expiry of the August white sugar contract on Thursday.
A significant tonnage of Thai white sugar is expected to be delivered; possibly as much as 250,000 tonnes, one European trade source said.
October raws traded up 0.08 cents, or 0.6 percent, at 12.64 cents a lb, while August white sugar was up $ 2, or 0.5 percent, at $ 375.90 a tonne. September arabicas traded down 0.1 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $ 1.2870 per lb. September robustas were also little changed, dipping by $ 3, or 0.2 percent, to $ 1,735 a tonne.
