LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE set a two-month low on Thursday while robusta prices fell to their weakest in six months weighed partly by concern that any global economic downturn linked to the crisis in Ukraine could curb demand.
COFFEE
May arabica coffee fell 1.7% to $2.2525 per lb by 1509 GMT after dipping to a two-month low of $2.2445.
Dealers said fund selling was weighing on prices while also noting that coffee shipments to Russia could fall as payment issues emerge.
“Lower coffee shipments to Russia would bring slight relief to a coffee market that is tight because of the low Brazilian crop,” Commerzbank said in a note.
Coffee traders are seeking advance payments on any new orders from Russia as Western sanctions hit the country’s financial system.
May robusta coffee fell 0.6% to $2,017 a tonne after setting an six-month low of $2,014.
Vietnam’s domestic coffee prices dipped on Thursday, following a tumble in London prices amid disruptions to the supply chain and payment methods as well as soaring oil prices resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, traders said.
COCOA
May New York cocoa slipped 0.1% to $2,527 a tonne.
However, dealers said the market was underpinned by an expected global cocoa deficit in the current 2021/22 season, driven partly by a sharp drop in production in Ghana.
Ghana’s graded and sealed (G&S) cocoa arrivals since the start of the season on Oct. 1 stood at 430,000 tonnes by Feb. 10, down 41.3% from 733,000 tonnes in same period the previous season, figures from marketing board COCOBOD showed on Thursday.
May London cocoa fell 0.5% to 1,687 pounds per tonne.
SUGAR
May raw sugar fell 0.2%, to 18.60 cents per lb.
May white sugar rose 0.25% to $516.50 a tonne.
Source: Brecorder
