New York Markets: ICE Raw Sugar and Coffee Futures Fall, Approaching Multi-Year Lows

Sugar Futures Decline as Traders Focus on July Contract Expiration

Reuters, New York/London, June 26 - ICE raw sugar futures fell on Wednesday as traders focused on the approaching expiration of the July contract, while the premium of London's August white sugar contract over the October contract surged to nearly a one-year high.

Arabica Coffee Drops Near Multi-Year Lows

ICE Arabica coffee futures fell on Wednesday, trading only slightly above recent multi-year lows, as the US dollar index rose.

Cocoa Markets Show Mixed Performance

London cocoa futures jumped higher, helped by a weaker pound sterling, while ICE cocoa futures showed little change, consolidating after dropping to a two-month low on Monday.

Raw Sugar Market Analysis

The ICE July raw sugar contract settled 0.06 cent, or 0.4%, lower at 17.01 cents per pound.

Traders focused on the ICE July raw sugar futures contract expiring Friday, with some expecting significant deliveries, potentially including Mexican sugar, which has a substantial supply surplus.

Raw sugar futures are trading above the three-year low of 16.17 cents touched on June 13, a level pressured by global oversupply.

White Sugar Premium Dynamics

The LIFFE August white sugar contract rose $0.30, or 0.1%, to $517.80 per ton.

The premium of the nearby white sugar contract over the October contract had earlier widened to about its widest level in a year at $31.70 before narrowing again, fueling speculation about potential Mexican sugar deliveries upon Friday's ICE raw sugar expiration.

Coffee Market Performance

The ICE September Arabica coffee futures fell 2.10 cents, or 1.7%, to $1.1845 per pound.

Prices are not far from the secondary-month contract's low of $1.1710 on June 20—the lowest since July 2009—as Brazil's bumper off-year crop continues to pressure prices.

Liffe September Robusta coffee futures settled $24 lower, or 1.4%, at $1,725 per ton.

Cocoa Futures Update

Liffe September cocoa contract rose £16, or 1.1%, to settle at £1,454 per ton. ICE September cocoa futures settled $2 higher at $2,165 per ton.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

When bumper Brazilian harvests weigh on the futures market, it is often good news for anyone buying beans for the brewer at home. If you would like to taste what Brazilian coffee is all about, FrontStreet Coffee's semi-washed Cerrado Red Bourbon from the Cerrado region of Brazil is a classic single-origin choice: at a medium roast it opens with aromas of creamed peanuts, toast, caramel, and hazelnut, rounds out smoothly on the palate, and carries only a gentle acidity with a faint bitter edge.

It works beautifully as a single origin, and thanks to that balanced, low-acid profile it also holds up in a moka pot, espresso machine, siphon, or French press.