Sugar steadies after U.S. data, arabica firms
Category: Sugar
(Reuters) – Raw sugar futures on ICE steadied on Monday after U.S. data showed speculators trimmed their net long position.
Arabica coffee firmed, underpinned by concerns over the quality of new crop Brazilian beans.
New York cocoa edged up, supported by a stronger pound.
Raw sugar futures held steady, supported by a shift of the global market into deficit after years of surpluses.
A slight reduction in the large net long position held by speculators, did not appear to weigh heavily on sugar futures.
“Despite the fact that the funds are so long, the market is still holding,” said Michael Liddiard of consultancy Agrilion.
Analyst Green Pool said in a weekly comment, “With specs cutting their net long to that of a fortnight ago, we’ve possibly seen a short term peak in the specs’ total position.”
October raw sugar on ICE was up 0.15 cent, or 0.8 percent, at 19.46 cents per lb at 1135 GMT.
October white sugar was up $3.60, or 0.7 percent, at $534.70 per tonne.
Dealers digested reports of a small delivery against expiry of the August white sugar futures contract on Friday.
RCMA Asia Pte Ltd’s sugar unit has scooped up about 500 lots, or 25,000 tonnes, of white sugar in a small delivery against the white sugar future contract, a trader with the Singapore firm confirmed.
Arabica futures firmed, supported by concerns over the quality of beans in Brazil’s harvest.
“We’ll continue to see concerns (over quality) until the harvest (in Brazil) is completed,” said Shweta Upadhyaya, agricultural commodities analyst with Agrimoney.
Dealers also spoke of concerns that a prolonged truckers’ strike in Colombia could slow down coffee exports.
Robusta coffee futures were supported by a very poor harvest in Brazil, a late start to harvesting in Indonesia, and concerns over the impact of adverse weather on output in top grower Vietnam.
“In Vietnam the potential impact of la Nina will keep the market on its toes,” Upadhyaya said.
September arabica was up 1.45 cent, or 1 percent, at $1.4900 per lb, having touched a 17-month peak of $1.548 per lb on Friday.
September robusta was up $3, or 0.2 percent, at $1,822 per tonne, having touched a 16-month high of $1,866 on Friday.
September New York cocoa was up $29, or 0.95 percent, at $3,094 per tonne.
September London cocoa was up 22 pounds, or 0.9 percent, at 2,472 pounds per tonne.
