Sugar Futures Advance as Demand Rebounds; Cocoa, Coffee Fall
Sugar gained in New York on speculation that yesterday’s slump, the biggest in a month, was overdone given robust demand and tight global supplies. Cocoa and coffee fell.
Sugar tumbled 9.3 percent yesterday as automatic sales by computer programs exaggerated a slide that started after concerns eased that Cyclone Yasi would damage crops in Australia. Prices have more than doubled since the end of May as adverse global weather slashed crops.
“We have strong demand, production losses and low supplies,” said Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp., a commodities brokerage in Medford, Oregon. “We still have to wait and see what the damage was in Australia.”
Raw sugar for March delivery rose 0.6 cent, or 1.9 percent, to settle at 32.64 cents a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.
Sugar-cane plantations may lose 50 percent of production potential after Yasi hit a region that accounts for a third of national output, according to a growers group. Australia is the third-largest exporter. The price dropped 3.8 percent this week, largely on yesterday’s decline.
In London, refined-sugar futures for March delivery dropped $19.80, or 2.4 percent, to $794.40 a metric ton on NYSE Liffe. The price fell 2.5 percent for the week.
Cocoa futures for March delivery declined $99, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $3,264 a ton at 12:03 p.m. on ICE, the biggest drop since Jan. 4. The price fell 0.4 percent this week.
In London, cocoa futures for March delivery dropped 52 pounds, or 2.4 percent, to 2,139 pounds ($3,441) a ton on NYSE Liffe. It was the biggest decline since Jan. 4. The price slid 1.2 percent this week.
Arabica-coffee futures for March delivery fell 2.05 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $2.493 a pound on ICE, paring this week’s gain to 1.8 percent.
In London, robusta-coffee futures for March delivery slid $32, or 1.4 percent, to $2,207 a ton on NYSE Liffe, gaining 3.7 percent this week.
To contact the reporters on this story: Isis Almeida in London at Ialmeida3@bloomberg.net; Chris Prentice in New York at Cprentice3@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McKiernan at pmckiernan@bloomberg.net.
Rate this Page