Arabica coffee futures on ICE edged higher on Wednesday as the market consolidated after the prior session’s sharp fall, while raw sugar prices were lower.
COFFEE
* December arabica coffee KCc2 rose 0.2% to $2.1665 per lb by 1453 GMT after falling by nearly 2.5% on Tuesday.
* Dealers said concerns about supply tightness, however, were beginning to ease.
* They noted that ICE-certified stocks had posted the first daily increase since June as traders recertify thousands of bags in a move which can remove age discounts.
* ICE-certified arabica stocks as of Aug. 16 stood at 577,212 bags, up from a 23-year low of 571,580 bags a day earlier.
* November robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 0.4% to $2,236 a tonne.
SUGAR
* October raw sugar SBc1 fell 0.2% to 18.23 cents per lb.
* Dealers said recent weakness in fuel prices in Brazil remained a bearish influence.
* Lower fuel prices can prompt Brazilian mills to switch to using more cane to produce sugar rather than cane-derived biofuels.
* Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras cut gasoline prices earlier this week, adding to the incentive for mills to focus on sugar production.
* October white sugar LSUc1 fell 0.5% to $551.10 a tonne.
* A third of Ukraine’s refineries will not operate in the coming sugar production year due to war and high gas prices, producers’ union Ukrtsukor said on Tuesday.
COCOA
* December New York cocoa CCc2 rose 2% to $2,417 a tonne.
* Dealers said the market had derived support from indications that production in Ivory Coast and Ghana in the upcoming season may be lower than previously anticipated.
* December London cocoa LCCc2 was up 1.7% at 1,814 pounds per tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nigel Hunt; Editing by Maju Samuel)
