(Reuters) – Cocoa futures on ICE fell on Thursday to multi-week lows as speculative selling continued to drive the market down, while raw sugar steadied after hitting a fresh 16-month low.
COCOA
* September New York cocoa was down $19, or 1.03 percent, at $1,834 a tonne by 1144 GMT after touching $1,826, the weakest for the second position in nearly seven weeks.
* September London cocoa was down 19 pounds, or 1.26 percent, to 1,489 pounds a tonne, after slipping to its weakest in almost four weeks.
* A wave of speculative selling, against a backdrop of ample global supplies, sent both markets sharply lower in the previous session, with New York shedding 3.4 percent and London losing 3.1 percent.
* Dealers said the market was pressured further on Thursday by light follow-through selling by speculators.
* “With not much new on the horizon to change the trend, the selling has continued and the market is drifting lower,” said one dealer. “If New York comes in with size and gets its selling hat back on, then both markets could probably test some of the recent lows we posted.”
* The weak technical close and the market’s slip below the short-term moving average added further chart-based pressure.
SUGAR
* July raw sugar rose 0.23 cents, or 0.23 percent, to 13.09 cents per lb, steadying after dipping to a fresh 16-month low of 12.94 cents in early trade.
* The market’s structure was battered in the previous session, when prices collapsed under the pressure of speculative selling and broader commodity weakness.
* Dealers said the market was in technically oversold territory, which lent some support. The decline in prices also spurred some industry buying although volume was light, dealers said.
* “If you look at the spread between the July and October, it’s still not enough of an incentive to front-load buying,” said one dealer. “There’s absolutely no urgency.”
* Dealers also noted sugar prices were inching closer to the ethanol parity, although they would need to stay low for some time before Brazilian mills switch more of their production to sugar.
* August white sugar also rose $1.10, or 0.28 percent, to $398.30 a tonne.
COFFEE
* September arabica coffee was up 0.25 cents, or 0.20 percent, at $1.223 per lb, consolidating after falling to its lowest in more than a year on Wednesday.
* September robusta coffee rose $2, or 0.10 percent, to $2,074 a tonne.
