Wednesday, 19 August 2015 23:50
NEW YORK/LONDON: Coffee futures on ICE turned lower and formed a technically bearish pattern on Wednesday, with arabica leading the way down on pressure from producer selling as currencies in top growers Brazil and Colombia dropped.
Cocoa futures rose on chart-based buying, defying the sharply lower trend seen in larger markets as the 19-commodity Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity Index fell to its lowest since 2002. Raw sugar consolidated lower after Tuesday’s surprise rally.
Arabica coffee prices opened above the prior session’s high but closed below Tuesday’s low, marking an outside reversal lower, a technical formation that has the potential to trigger selling the following day.
“Some producers in Colombia and Brazil are taking advantage of the (falling currencies) and are selling a little bit,” said Hernando de la Roche, director of INTL FCStone’s coffee division in Miami.
“I think it’s a correction, the market was a little overbought.”
Last week, arabica soared to a three-month high of $ 1.426.
December arabica settled down 4.25 cents, or 3.1 percent, at $ 1.348 per lb. Total volume was more than double the average as September/December spreading continued ahead of the spot contract’s first notice day on Friday.
September robusta coffee closed down $ 62, or 3.6 percent, at $ 1,669 per tonne as the spot contract fell back to a modest discount to the second-month from Tuesday’s one-day premium.
New York cocoa firmed after closing above the 100-day moving average on Tuesday and then extended gains above a key Fibonacci retracement level.
Concerns over dryness in parts of top grower Ivory Coast and No. 2 producer Ghana provided bullish sentiment, traders said.
New York December cocoa settled up $ 32, or 1 percent, at $ 3,116 a tonne, while London December cocoa closed up 23 pounds, or 1.1 percent, at 2,075 pounds.
Sugar prices were also pressured by the weak Brazilian currency, traders said.
October raw sugar closed down 0.14 cent, or 1.3 percent, at 10.59 cents a lb.
October white sugar dipped by $ 4.90, or 1.4 percent, to end at $ 339.20 a tonne, after touching a contract low of $ 340.10.
