Arabica coffee closes down, loses 2.7% in the week
Arabica coffee futures on ICE closed lower on Friday, accumulating losses of 2.7% for the week, weighed down partly by rising exchange stocks, while raw sugar prices were also lower.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee KC2! settled down 0.55 cents, or 0.3%, at $1.5815 per lb. The contract lost 2.7% in the week, its second consecutive week of losses.
* Dealers said the market was back on the defensive after a short-lived rally linked partly to a deteriorating outlook for next year's crop in Brazil.
* "After temporarily rebounding due to a worsening supply outlook in top producer Brazil and Colombia, arabica coffee prices have begun to ease, triggered by a sharp rebound in ICE arabica coffee inventories," Fitch Solutions said in a note.
* ICE certified coffee stocks rose to 681,698 bags on Dec. 9, well above a 23-year low of 382,695 bags set on Nov. 3. There were 384,310 bags pending grading.
* January robusta coffee RC1! fell $34, or 1.8%, at $1,884 a tonne.
* The global coffee supply balance will shift from a deficit of 2.17 million bags in 2022/23 to a surplus of 3.74 million bags in 2023/24 as Brazil's output partly recovers, according to a report.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar SB1! settled down 0.08 cents, or 0.4%, at 19.60 cents per lb. The contract, however, gained 0.6% this week, its second consecutive week of gains.
* The market has been supported by rains in Brazil which is likely to result in millions of tonnes of cane being left in the fields to be harvested next year.
* Brazil's sugar and ethanol industry group Unica will release on Monday a production report regarding the Centre-South region covering the second half of November.
* March white sugar SF1! rose $0.80, or 0.1%, at $541.40 a tonne.
COCOA
* March New York cocoa CC2! settled down $38, or 1.5%, to $2,504 a tonne. The contract lost 1% in the week.
* Cocoa plantations in Africa's largest-producing countries, including the world's No. 1 exporter Ivory Coast, are estimated to have greater resilience than usual in the coming dry season, a Climate42 agricultural weather report said.
* March London cocoa C2! lost 36 pounds, or 1.8%, to 1,942 pounds per tonne.