RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Futures on the International Commodities Exchange (ICE) gained again on Friday, closing the week with strong gains as investors await assessments of possible damage to the sugar cane crop in Brazil due to frosts this week.
Sugar
Raw sugar for October delivery closed at US$0.21 per pound, or 1.2%, higher than the price of US$ 0.1815/lb, a day after hitting its highest level since late February. Sugar contracts were up 6.9% for the week.
Traders said the market continued to be supported by the frosts that hit sugarcane areas in Brazil, the largest producer, this week.
“Temperatures are now forecast to return to normal levels. However, the damage to sugarcane is now done and this assessment will prevail in the coming days,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia said.
Brazil exported 2.75 million tons of sugar in June, compared with 2.71 million tons a year ago, data showed. White sugar for August delivery slipped US$0.40, or 0.1 percent, to US$450.30 per ton.
Coffee
Arabica coffee for September delivery closed down 3.35 cents, or 2.1 percent, at US$1.5305 a pound after hitting its highest level since early June on Thursday. The contract price is down 3.25% for the week. Brokers and analysts believe most coffee areas in Brazil were spared frost damage.
Brazil exported 174,239 tons of green coffee in June, up from 141,557 tons last year, according to the data.
Coffee exports from Honduras, the largest exporter of arabica coffee in Central America, rose 28.4% in June compared to the same month last year, according to the data.
Robusta coffee for delivery in September closed at US$6, or 0.4%, higher at US$1,707 per ton, having earlier hit a 2 1/2-year high of US$1,737.
Traders said the relatively large discount between Robusta and Arabica makes the former attractive. Robusta stocks in ICE warehouses have begun to decline.