LONDON: Robusta coffee futures on ICE rose on Friday boosted by short covering triggered partly by rains and flooding in top grower Vietnam although coffee areas appeared to have avoided the heaviest showers, lessening the threat of harvest delays.
COFFEE
November robusta coffee rose $15, or 0.55 percent, to $2,012 per tonne by 1124 GMT after hitting a session high of $2,020.
Dealers said the market was underpinned by light short covering by speculators spooked by heavy rains and flooding in top grower Vietnam, which killed at least 46 people.
While the market was closely monitoring the situation as harvesting gets underway, dealers noted that showers in coffee areas had been lighter, diminishing the likelihood that rains will cause significant delays.
“There has been some flooding in Vietnam, just not in the coffee parts,” said one dealer. “So we don’t really believe there’s a weather problem at the moment.”
Physical demand from roasters, however, was beginning to wane after lower prices early in the week had spurred some interest.
“We’re seeing low demand for robusta at these levels,” the dealer said. “They’re just waiting. They have good cover so they don’t really have any pressure.”
December arabica coffee rose a marginal 0.05 cent, or 0.04 percent, to $1.2640 per lb.
Market participants continued to closely monitor weather in Brazil, where crop-friendly rains have recently eased worries about damage to the crop.
COCOA
December New York cocoa was off $12, or 0.6 percent, at $2,078 a tonne, retreating further from a six-month high of $2,121 set on Thursday.
Dealers said producer selling had helped to stall the run-up in prices and the market was now on track for a marginal weekly loss of around 0.3 percent.
Prices had risen earlier in the week boosted partly by signs of improved demand with Europe’s third-quarter grind climbing to a six-year high.
Dealers are now awaiting grind figures from North America, due on Oct. 19.
December London cocoa was off 22 pounds, or 1.4 percent, at 1,558 pounds a tonne.
SUGAR
March raw sugar was down 0.04 cent, or 0.3 percent, at 14.24 cents per lb.
Dealers said the market continued to lack a clear overall trend with ample supplies helping to cap the upside.
December white sugar was off $1.10, or 0.3 percent, at $374.50 a tonne.
