Soft futures mixed

Soft futures were mixed on Wednesday. Sugar, cocoa and cotton slipped, while arabica and robusta coffee marked daily gains.

On the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, arabica coffee futures for September delivery traded at $1.2408 a pound at 12:21 GMT, up 0.40% on the day. Prices ranged between daily high and low at $1.2413 and $1.2343 a pound respectively.

Arabica coffee has been climbing for a second day on speculations investors will start buying. Coffee prices plunged to a three-year low of $1.2117 a pound on June 12 amid concerns over ample global supplies. Brazils 2013-2014 production is expected to be on a record level for a year, in which trees enter the lower-yielding half of a two-year cycle. Output is expected to stand at 48.6 million bags, each of which weighs 132 pounds.

Meanwhile in London, robusta coffee marked a daily gain of 1.53% at 12:20 GMT, standing at $1 790 a ton. Prices ranged between days low at $1 755 and high of $1 791 a ton. Robusta was under heavy pressure recently after weather conditions in Indonesia and Vietnam, the worlds biggest producer and exporter of the sort, were favorable for a good production.

According to the International Coffee Organisation, the 2012-2013 arabica production in most countries will jump 5.7%, and robusta output will jump by 8.8%.

Sugar declines

Meanwhile in the U.S., sugar fell by 0.51% for the day, trading at $0.1665 a pound. The sweetener touched a daily low at $0.1664 and high of $0.1676.

Sugar prices fell to a three-year low of $0.1617 a pound last week, as farmers in Brazil accelerated harvesting of the nation’s sugar crops. Prices experienced some support later as millers used more cane to produce biofuel, instead of the sweetener. The steep decline was offset on Monday as hedge funds and large institutional investors covered short positions, which shot prices up to $0.1697 a pound, highest since May 28.

Cotton declines as well

Cotton futures for December delivery also marked daily losses, standing at $0.8715 a pound at 12:14 GMT, down 0.20% on the day. Prices ranged between days high and low at $0.8728 and $0.8676 a pound respectively.

According to the USDA weekly crop progress report on Monday, as of June 16 95% of the U.S. cotton crop was planted, compared to 88% in the preceding week. This is close to last year’s 98% and the five-year average 97%. As for the crop condition, 19% was categorized as “Very poor” and “Poor”, 39% was “Fair” and 42% was “Good” and “Excellent”, which is overall worse than last year’s crop state.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture trimmed its cotton crop forecast by 3.6% to 13.5 million bales, compared to its previous estimate of 14 million bales. Cotton gained 13% this year as global production is expected to slip 4.8% in the season starting August 1, while demand will increase by 2.3%, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee.

Meanwhile, U.S. cocoa for September delivery fell 0.36% on the day, trading at at $2 211.50 a ton at 12:19 GMT. Prices were moving between daily boundaries of $2 228.50 and $2 211.50 a ton respectively