Cocoa slides to 4-month low – Markets

NEW YORK: Cocoa futures on the ICE exchange hit a four-month low on Friday as stocks held in exchange warehouses continued to head higher, while sugar also fell.

COCOA

London cocoa settled down 162 pounds, or 2.6%, to 6,072 pounds per metric ton, after hitting a four-month low of 5,969. It lost 3% in the week.

New York cocoa fell 3.8% to $7,765 a ton, having hit a four-month low of $7,639. However, it was flat for the week.

Dealers noted that stocks held in exchange warehouses in the United States remain near their highest in four months. They also cited reports that top producer Ivory Coast will not have to cancel export contracts this year, despite the dismal outlook for the mid-crop. Reuters reported earlier this week that dry weather is expected to reduce the size of the Ivorian mid-crop by 40%. Alex Assanvo, executive secretary of the Ivory Coast-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI), said that the fall in cocoa output in Ivory Coast and Ghana for the current season is “significant”.

SUGAR

Raw sugar settled down 0.28 cent, or 1.4%, at 19.72 cents per lb, having hit a 2-1/2 week high earlier this week, while white sugar fell 2.1% at $552.40 a ton.

Dealers said recent scattered showers in top producer Brazil’s sugar belt has improved the 2025 production outlook somewhat, but more rains are needed.

Soil moisture in Brazil’s main sugar belt fell to the lowest in seven years after the dry spell in February and early March, according to the LSEG Agriculture Weather Dashboard.

Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said his government expects lengthy tariff negotiations with the United States, and suggested they would include sugar and ethanol.

COFFEE

Arabica coffee settled down 0.75 cents, or 0.2%, at $3.914 per lb, still consolidating after hitting record levels in February. It gained 2.4% weekly.

Traders said the market has been trapped in a range between $3.80 and $3.90, with not much news on fundamentals to move it either way, and losses in Brazil for the 2025 crop pretty much priced in. Commodity traders Cargill, Marex, Olam and Louis Dreyfus, along with the world’s largest coffee roaster JDE Peet’s, are among firms that lost money with the downfall of Brazilian coffee traders Atlantica and Cafebras, according to court documents.

Robusta coffee rose 0.3% at $5,515 a ton, having gained 2% in the week.