Softs: Cocoa falls more than 4%; raw sugar rises 2% at expiry

Tata Coffee

30/04/2021 21:16

(Recasts, adds closing prices and comments)
    NEW YORK/LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures in New
York and London fell heavily on Friday as the world's top
producer Ivory Coast projected higher output  and reduced the
amount it was willing to reimburse exporters. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2MN6HB
    Raw sugar rose as the front-month position expired.
    
    COCOA
    * July New York cocoa  CCc2  ​​settled down $117, or
4.7%, at $2,382 a tonne, the lowest price in more than two
weeks.
    * Cocoa production in top grower Ivory Coast in the 2020/21
season is expected to rise to 2.225 million tonnes from 2.2
million tonnes the previous season, cocoa sector regulator CCC
said on Friday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2MN6HB
    * CCC reduced the value it was willing to pay exporters as a
reimbursement for the higher prices paid this season due to the
living income differential (LID).
    * Cocoa has underperformed this year relative to coffee and
sugar despite signs of improved demand, with the market expected
to show a wide surplus.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2MK4FR
    * July London cocoa  LCCc2  ​​​settled down 47 pounds, or
2.8%, at 1,607 pounds per tonne​.
           
    SUGAR
    * May raw sugar  SBc1  expired on Friday up 2.1% at 17.44
cents per lb.
    * May delivery totaled around 1,350 lots, or about 575,000
tonnes, according to preliminary information from traders. If
confirmed, it would be only 25% of the volume reported a year
ago.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MN276
    * Traders said the harvest delay in Brazil might be one
factor behind the relatively small delivery.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MK1HB
    * They added that while nervousness about the cane crop in 
Brazil persists, output in key regions of India and Thailand is
improving and the global market should be more or less balanced
this year.
    * August white sugar  LSUc1  ​​fell 1.4% to $447.10 a tonne.
         
    COFFEE 
    * July arabica coffee  KCc2  settled down 1.55 cents, or
1.1%, at $1.4145 per lb. It hit its highest since February 2017
at $1.4765 on Thursday.
    * Dealers said the market appeared overbought after the
recent rise, leading some investors to take profit.
    * Arabica supplies are tightening as Brazil enters an
off-year in its biennial crop cycle. There are also signs demand
is recovering after results from coffee makers such as Starbucks
 SBUX.O , Keurig Dr Pepper  KDP.O  and Tata Coffee  TACO.NS .
    * July robusta coffee  LRCc2  settled up $4, or 0.3%, at
$1,456 a tonne.
    

 (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira
Editing by David Clarke, Mark Potter and Richard Chang)
 ((marcelo.teixeira@tr.com; +1 332 220 8062; Reuters Messaging:
marcelo.teixeira.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net - https://twitter.com/tx_marcelo))