By Debarati Roy and Alistair Holloway
Bloomberg – August 10, 2010
Sugar rose for the first session in four as Russia’s beet production may drop because of a prolonged drought. Cocoa declined while coffee gained.
The Russian sugar-beet forecast may be cut by as much as 20 percent, according to the nation’s Sugar Producers’ Union. The country may import about 1.8 million metric tons of the raw sweetener in 2011, the same amount it is estimated to buy this year, Chairman Andrei Bodin said.
“The Russian news is providing some support to the market,” said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at broker Lind-Waldock in Chicago. “The sell-off has been overdone.”
Raw sugar for October delivery gained 0.47 cent, or 2.7 percent, to 18.2 cents a pound at 10:11 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. A close at that price would mark the biggest increase this month. The most-active contract lost 6.1 percent in the previous three sessions.
Refined-sugar futures for October delivery increased $6.90, or 1.3 percent, to $531 a ton on the Liffe exchange in London, snapping a three-session decline.
Cocoa futures for September delivery fell $106, or 3.5 percent, to $2,933 a ton in New York on speculation of improved crop prospects in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer. Earlier, the commodity declined to $2,907, its lowest level since July 22.
Ivory Coast Exports
Ivorian exports climbed 40 percent in June, according to data supplied by the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro. President Laurent Gbagbo said last week that farmers can double their output of cocoa and coffee without hindering planting of local staple crops.
In London, cocoa futures for September delivery fell 52 pounds, or 2.48 percent, to 2,133 pounds ($3,354) a ton, heading for the fourth loss in a row.
In New York, arabica-coffee futures for September delivery gained 0.8 cent, or 0.5 percent, to $1.704 a pound, adding to yesterday’s 1.3 percent advance. On Liffe, robusta-coffee futures for September delivery fell $10, or 0.6 percent, to $1,714 a ton, down for the third session in four.
–With assistance from Maria Kolesnikova in Russia. Editors: Michael Arndt, Steve Stroth.
Source: Bloomberg
