Sugar fell in New York on expectations that tight global supplies will ease next season. Cocoa and coffee also dropped.
Sugar supplies will exceed demand by 10.3 million metric tons in the year that begins in October, reversing a 500,000-ton deficit this crop year, as producers respond to higher prices, according to C. Czarnikow Sugar Futures Ltd. Production will rise by 14.2 million tons to a record 182.2 million, helping consumers replenish inventories, the broker said.
“The supply situation is looking comfortable,” said Marius Sonnen, the president of Sonnen & Co., a New York-based sugar trader. “There may be some short-term delays because of port congestions, but a bumper crop in Brazil will help wipe out the global deficit.”
Raw sugar for July delivery slid 0.36 cent, or 1.5 percent, to settle at 23.59 cents a pound at 2 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York on June 6. The most-active contract has slumped 35 percent from a 30-year high of 36.08 cents reached in February.
In Thailand, vessels were lining up to load as much as 400,000 tons of sugar because of port congestion, according to Thai Sugar Trading Corp. About 2.25 million tons were waiting to be loaded at Brazil’s main ports in the first week of June, data from shipping agency Williams Servicos Maritimos Ltda showed.
Cocoa futures for July delivery dropped $15, or 0.5 percent, to $2,863 a ton on ICE.
Arabica-coffee futures for July delivery fell 10.45 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $2.605 a pound in New York, the most since March 10.
In London, refined sugar advanced, while cocoa and robusta coffee retreated.