Sugar Falls, Caps Longest Slump Since May; Cocoa, Coffee Rise
Sugar futures fell, capping the longest slump in 11 months, on speculation that supplies are sufficient to meet demand as output rises in Brazil and Thailand, the world’s largest exporters. Cocoa and coffee climbed.
Brazil will boost sugar production to 34.6 million metric tons this year from 33.5 million tons a year earlier, according to Unica, an industry group. Thailand’s output for the season that began Oct. 1 may reach an all-time high, German researcher F.O. Licht said. Prices in New York have dropped 36 percent since touching a 30-year high in February.
“Weather in Brazil is encouraging for millers, and harvesting will be coming onstream fully by the end of this month,” Nick Penney, an analyst at London-based Sucden Financial, said in a report.
Raw sugar for July delivery fell 0.59 cent, or 2.5 percent, to settle at 23.06 cents a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. That marked the fifth straight drop, the longest slide since May. Earlier, the price touched 22.95 cents, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 5.
In London, refined-sugar futures for August delivery declined $2.80, or 0.4 percent, to $638.40 a ton on NYSE Liffe. Earlier, the price touched $628.80, the lowest since Oct. 7.
Cocoa futures for July delivery rose $57, or 1.9 percent, to $3,127 a ton on ICE. In London, cocoa futures for July delivery advanced 14 pounds, or 0.7 percent, to 1,960 pounds ($3,205) a ton.
Arabica-coffee futures for July delivery gained 1.45 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $2.8515 a pound in New York. Robusta-coffee futures for July delivery fell $31, or 1.2 percent, to $2,469 a ton in London.
To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at ialmeida3@bloomberg.net; Ashley Lutz in New York at alutz8@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
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