NEW YORK: Arabica coffee and raw sugar on ICE Futures US rose on Monday, supported by a strengthening of top grower Brazil’s currency and after short covering inspired by data showing speculators took record bearish stances.
New York cocoa futures fell from a six-week high, bucking the moves higher in larger markets as the 19-commodity Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity Index rose for the second straight session.
Volume was thin in US soft commodity markets, and London-based cocoa, robusta coffee and white sugar futures were closed for a British public holiday.
COFFEE
December arabica coffee settled up 1.05 cent, or 1 percent, at $1.0575 per lb.
Data released after the market closed on Friday showed speculators increased their net short position in arabica futures and options to a record 106,105 contracts, surprising traders and spurring short-covering on Monday, traders said.
Speculators’ record net short position accounted for a hefty 35 percent of futures open interest on Aug. 21.
Also supportive of prices was the Brazilian real’s rebound above Friday’s 2-1/2-year low against the US dollar, which discouraged producers in the country from selling, traders said.
SUGAR
October raw sugar settled up 0.28 cent, or 2.7 percent, at 10.51 cents per lb.
Raw sugar futures were also supported by the bounce of the Brazilian currency, traders said.
Though market participants were not surprised by Friday’s data showing that speculators sharply raised their net short position in raw sugar contracts to a record in the week to Aug. 21, the information did attract light short-covering on Monday, traders said.
COCOA
December New York cocoa settled down $18, or 0.8 percent, at $2,346 per tonne, after rising to $2,397, the highest since July 18.
Prices turned lower in what traders described as a corrective move after surging 10 percent last week, the second-position contract’s biggest weekly move since January 2012.
Cocoa prices had neared overbought levels after the market eyed a possible delay in bean deliveries from top grower Ivory Coast after its largest local exporting company was liquidated last month, while concerns about dry crop weather were also supportive of the market, traders said.
The December contract hovered around its 200-day moving average at $2,344.
Source: Brecorder
