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LONDON — Raw sugar futures on ICE hit 2-1/2 week lows on Monday as rare protests against China’s strict zero-COVID curbs sparked worries over demand growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
SUGAR
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* March raw sugar fell 0.9% to 19.16 cents per lb by 1502 GMT, having earlier hit a low of 19.05. The contract lost 3.6% last week.
* Dealers noted sugar has come some way off its recent high above 20 cents, adding the current weak macro-economic signals could push it further towards 19 cents near term.
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* Fitch Solutions raised its average sugar price forecast for 2023 to 19 cents, driven by a less-than-expected Indian sugar export quota.
* March white sugar fell 0.6% to $526.60 a tonne.
COCOA
* March New York cocoa fell 0.1% to $2,481 a tonne, having gained 1% last week.
* Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast from the season start on Oct. 1 reached 718,000 tonnes by Nov. 27, up 1.1% from a year ago, exporters estimated.
* March London cocoa rose 0.1% to 1,987 pounds per tonne.
* Dealers noted the rising premium for December cocoa versus March, indicating tightening near-term supply
* ICE cocoa speculators raised their net long position by 1,122 lots to 75,683 lots as of Nov. 22, ICE Futures Europe data showed.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee fell 2% to $1.6170 per lb.
* The contract rose 6.4% last week, regaining most of the ground lost the previous week when prices fell by 7.7% and hit a 16-month low.
* Brazilian farmers and agronomists have downgraded their views for next year’s crop after the post-flowering period.
* January robusta coffee fell 0.2% to $1,817 a tonne.
* The robusta market is being underpinned by rains in Vietnam that have disrupted the harvest. (Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Shailesh Kuber)
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