Cocoa turns lower on heavy spreading, raw sugar inches up

June 5th, 2015

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Category: Cocoa, Sugar

cocoa beans 450x299(Reuters) – Cocoa futures turned lower on Thursday as heavy position rolling and a lack of demand pushed the New York July/September spread to a discount for the first time in nearly a year.

Raw sugar futures edged higher, buoyed by a softer dollar but with gains limited by abundant supplies, while arabica coffee rose for the seventh straight day.

Cocoa futures initially rose on fund buying but when this dried up, the markets turned lower with July/September spreading dominating the heavy volume in New York.

Profit taking by speculators and hedge selling pushed the markets lower, traders said.

“Weak spreads also contributed to the softer tone,” said one U.S. cocoa dealer.

New York July cocoa settled down $10, or 0.3 percent, at $3,115 per tonne. The July/September spread CCN5-U5 fell as low as a $1 discount, dropping from a premium for the first time since July 2014.

July London cocoa closed down 11 pounds, or 0.5 percent, at 2,102 pounds a tonne. The July/September spread LCCN5-U5 narrowed to flat, a level last seen April 21, from a 5 pound premium on Wednesday.

Raw sugar futures were up a shade, with plentiful stocks in leading origins such as Thailand and India capping gains made by the weak U.S. dollar.

“The market remains well-supplied, and that continues to weigh,” said Hamish Smith, commodity analyst with Capital Economics, referring to raw sugar prices which hit their lowest in more than six years last week.

July raw sugar on ICE closed up 0.07 cent, or 0.6 percent, at 12.12 cents a lb.

August white sugar ended up $1.40, or 0.4 percent, at $351.50 per tonne.

Arabica, supported by the weak greenback, continued to bounce up from last week’s lowest level since January 2014 as the market awaited direction while top grower Brazil harvests.

July arabica coffee rose 1.4 cents, or 1 percent, to close at $1.357 per lb.

Robusta coffee futures steadied after a rally driven by arabicas this week that triggered offers of Vietnamese physical supplies after months of hoarding by local producers.

There were concerns that the El Nino weather phenomenon could lead to dryness in Vietnam, the world’s top robusta producer, potentially eroding the next crop, said Smith.

“The question is whether dry conditions would hamper growth of cherries,” he said.

July robusta settled up $13, or 0.8 percent, at $1,736 a tonne.

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