Sugar Rebounds on Speculation Prices Fell Too Far; Coffee Rises

August 20th, 2012

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Category: Sugar

(The Washington Post) – Sugar rose for a second day in New York on speculation prices fell too far following the longest losing streak in at least 51 years. Arabica coffee advanced.

Raw sugar ended a 13-day decline on Aug. 17, the longest slide since Jan. 4, 1961. It lost 11 percent this month. The sweetener’s 14-day relative strength index, a gauge of whether a commodity is overbought or oversold, dropped to 28.9 on Aug. 17, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That represents a level some analysts who study technical charts view as a sign of a potential impending rise.

“Technically the market is oversold, and seems ready for a bounce,” Tom McNeill, a director at Green Pool Commodity Specialists Pty Ltd. said in a report e-mailed today.

Raw sugar for October delivery rose 0.4 percent to 20.23 cents a pound by 8:15 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. White, or refined, sugar for October delivery gained 0.4 percent to $561.90 a metric ton on NYSE Liffe in London.

The sweetener fell as dry weather returned to Brazil, the world’s largest producer, helping accelerate the harvest. Sugar cane production in the center south, the country’s main growing region, rose 11 percent to 46.3 million tons in the second half of July, industry group Unica said.

“With center south Brazil now purring along, it seems supply is plentiful,” McNeill said. Good weather “ensured a record July production, and August is likely to be even higher.”

Cocoa for December delivery fell 1.9 percent to $2,395 a ton on ICE. Cocoa for December delivery declined 1.3 percent to 1,610 pounds ($2,526) a ton on the NYSE Liffe.

Arabica coffee for December delivery rose 1.6 percent to $1.6475 a pound in New York. Robusta coffee for November delivery was little changed at $2,106 a ton in London.

–Editors: Sharon Lindores, John Deane

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