(Reuters) – ICE cocoa futures fell on Monday, continuing the previous session’s slide on improved crop prospects in top producing region West Africa which reinforced expectations there is likely to be a global surplus in the 2016/17 season.
December New York cocoa fell $22, or 0.7 percent, to $2,830 per tonne at 1155 GMT.
“The forecast for the next season is quite positive, at least with regards to the most important region of West Africa,” said Michaela Kuhl, an analyst with Commerzbank.
“There are already some estimates for a considerable surplus in the next season. Although it’s quite early to talk about that, that’s what the mood is like at the moment.”
Abundant rain and sun in most of Ivory Coast’s main cocoa growing regions appears to have improved the outlook for the 2016/17 main crop in the world’s top grower.
December London cocoa was off 19 pounds, or 0.8 percent, at 2,270 pounds a tonne.
Raw sugar futures were slightly lower as the market consolidated after last week’s rise to the highest level in more than four years.
Dealers said the market was underpinned by an expected weak end to the cane crush this season in the key Centre-South region of Brazil and an increase in the size of the global sugar deficit forecast by analysts Platts Kingsman.
Platts Kingsman on Monday raised its forecast for an anticipated global sugar deficit in the 2016/17 season (October/September) by 570,000 tonnes to 6.45 million tonnes. (nL8N1BZ419)
October raw sugar futures were up 0.04 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 22.17 cents per lb, as the contract heads for expiry at the end of this week.
March raws were down 0.02 cents, or 0.1 percent, at 22.68 cents per lb. The second month peaked at 23.88 cents last week, the highest since July 2012.
December white sugar futures were down $3.20, or 0.5 percent, to $589.00 per tonne.
Arabica coffee futures were also lower with December down 0.05 cents, or 0.03 percent, at $1.5135 per lb.
Brazil’s crop supply agency Conab forecast the country’s 2016 coffee output at 49.64 million bags on Wednesday, down slightly from its May forecast, after losses from drought in robusta growing regions eclipsed gains in arabica areas. (nL2N1BX0GM)
“It’s still too dry in important regions in Brazil where blossoming is supposed to go on. In the robusta regions, it’s much delayed,” Kuhl said.
November robusta coffee were flat at $1,966 per tonne.
