Sugar Falls to Seven-Month Low on Thai Output Gain; Coffee, Cocoa Decline
Sugar fell to the lowest since September on forecasts for increased exports from Thailand, the world’s second-largest shipper, and that China may take further steps to slow growth. Coffee and cocoa also retreated.
Thailand’s sugar exports may reach a record 7 million tons this season, according to researcher F.O. Licht. The People’s Bank of China said stabilizing consumer prices and managing inflation expectations are “critical,” after policy makers from India and Brazil yesterday signaled further interest-rate increases are possible. Raw-sugar futures have plunged 34 percent this year.
“There is much talk about the abundance of sugar coming out of Thailand, and we’re seeing a reaction to that,” said Jeff Bauml, a senior vice president at R.J. Brien & Associates, a broker in New York.
Raw sugar for July delivery slid 0.7 cent, or 3.2 percent, to settle at 21.35 cents a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, after touching 21.33 cents, the lowest since Sept. 10. In London, refined-sugar futures for August delivery fell $16.80, or 2.8 percent, to $592.70 a ton on NYSE Liffe.
Arabica-coffee futures for July delivery fell 11.65 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $2.945 a pound on ICE in New York. The price yesterday touched $3.089, the highest since May 1997. In London, robusta-coffee futures for July delivery retreated $34, or 1.3 percent, to $2,577 a ton.
Cocoa futures for July delivery fell $60, or 1.8 percent, to settle at $3,211 a ton as of 11:58 a.m. on ICE. In London, cocoa futures for July delivery slipped 39 pounds, or 2 percent, to 1,945 pounds ($3,212) a ton.
To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in London at ialmeida3@bloomberg.net;
To contact the reporters on this story: Ashley Lutz in New York at alutz8@bloomberg.net.
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