Wednesday, 19 August 2015 18:09
LONDON: Benchmark raw sugar futures were lifted by a softer dollar on Wednesday, with the upside limited by hefty supplies, while arabica coffee firmed and the spot robusta contract fell to a discount to the second month. New York cocoa edged higher on technically driven buying supported by the weaker dollar.
October raw sugar edged up by 0.04 cents, or 0.4 percent, to 10.77 cents a lb at 1123 GMT, moving further away from a seven-year low of 10.37 cents touched on Aug. 10.
Rapid cane harvesting in Brazil and huge Asian stocks capped prices, with dealers tracking weather forecasts closely. “We are told of weather reports predicting rain over some of the growing areas in Brazil over the next few days,” said Tom Kujawa, co-head of softs at Sucden Financial Sugar.
October white sugar dipped by $ 2.10, or 0.6 percent, to $ 342.00 a tonne.
Arabica futures nudged higher, approaching last Friday’s three-month peak, underpinned by concerns over tight Brazilian supplies. December arabica traded up 0.85 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $ 1.3990 per lb, below Friday’s three-month high of $ 1.4260.
September robusta coffee was down $ 16, or 0.9 percent, at $ 1,715 per tonne as the spot contract fell back to a modest discount to the second-month, from Tuesday’s premium. New York cocoa firmed after prices were viewed as oversold after their sharp drop from last month’s 4-1/2 year high. Concerns over dryness in parts of top grower Ivory Coast and No. 2 producer Ghana provided bullish sentiment, traders said.
New York December cocoa was up $ 28, or 0.9 percent, at $ 3,112 a tonne, while London December cocoa gained 17 pounds, or 0.8 percent, to 2,069 pounds.
“On any breach of 2,100 pounds there remains the potential for a recovery back above 2,125,” said Kash Kamal, senior research analyst at Sucden Financial.
