NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) – White sugar futures fell on Tuesday, with the spot premium over raw sugar slipping to its lowest in more than 2-1/2 years on signs of a looming global supply glut.
SUGAR
* October white sugar settled down $11.50, or 3.1 percent, at $365.50 a tonne after dropping to $364.90, its lowest since Aug. 17.
* The premium for spot white sugar over the equivalent raw contract fell below $55 per tonne, the lowest on a continuation chart since February 2015.
* “More sugar production adds to that,” said Jack Scoville, vice president of Chicago-based Price Futures Group.
* The whites market has been pressured by expectations of a global supply glut, as the European Union inches closer to ending production quotas in October.
* France forecasting its largest beet crop in 25 years also pressured prices, said James Liddiard, of New York-based Agrilion Commodity Advisers.
* Pakistan’s sugar industry requesting to reinstate export subsidies added more pressure, Liddiard said.
* October raw sugar settled down 0.27 cent, or 1.9 percent, at 14.02 cents per lb.
* Prices were somewhat supported by data from Brazil’s Unica, which came in lower than expected.
* Florida cane areas missed the brunt of Hurricane Irma and flooding was less than initially feared, Liddiard said, though it is still early to assess damage.
COFFEE
* December arabica settled up 3.2 cents, or 2.4 percent, at $1.3505 per lb, its highest in nearly a month.
* Continued worries about drier-than-normal weather in Brazil boosted prices, said Judy Ganes, president of J Ganes Consulting in Panama.
* “That’s going to likely keep the 2018/19 crop from being as big as what it could’ve been,” Ganes said.
* “Below-normal rainfall is expected across the majority of the coffee belt,” for the next six to 10 days, said Maryland-based meteorologist MDA Information Systems in a daily report.
* November robusta coffee settled up $18, or 0.9 percent, at $1,969 per tonne.
* Technical buying also supported prices.
* “We broke out, so there’s some technical buying as well. We got above $1.32,” Scoville added.
COCOA
* December New York cocoa settled up $17, or 0.9 percent, at $1,951 per tonne.
* The cocoa grind will be strong, Ganes added, referring to the second-quarter data due to be released in October.
* “That’s going to provide the underpinning to the market, some cushion,” Ganes said.
* December London cocoa settled unchanged from the previous session, at 1,476 pounds per tonne.
Written by: Renita D. Young and Ana Ionova @Reuters
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