Soft futures mixed

Soft futures were mixed on Wednesday with sugar and coffee marking daily gains while cotton and cocoa declined.

On the ICE Futures Exchange, sugar futures for October delivery hit a new days high at $0.1647 a pound at 13:51 GMT, up 0.73% on the day. Days low stood at $0.1625 a pound. The sweetener advanced 1.11% this week after settling 3.9% lower the preceding one.

The sweetener fell to a three-week low of $0.1623 on Friday after declining for six straight days. Brazil is the world’s biggest producer and exporter, accounting for 20% of global production and 39% of shipments. On Friday, Datagro, a Brazilian industry group, said the country’s main growing region is expected to produce more than 1 million tons of sugar this year, compared to the last one. Output should total around 35.3 million tons, above last year’s 34.1 million.

Coffee gains

Meanwhile, arabica coffee gained 1.09% on the day by 14:00 GMT, trading at $1.2323 a pound. Prices held in range between days high and low of $1.2370 and $1.2170 per pound respectively. The C contract settled 0.9% lower yesterday reducing its weekly advance to 2% so far. Arabica gained 1% during the preceding two weeks.

Meanwhile on the NYSE LIFFE, robusta extended a third day of gains, marking a 0.9% daily advance. Robusta for September delivery traded at $1 875 a ton, varying between days high and low of $1 864 and $1 858 a ton. The coffee settled almost 2% higher yesterday, extending this weeks advance to 3.7% after gaining more than 3.7% during the past two weeks.

Robusta was supported recently on speculation that farmers in the top producer Vietnam are holding back beans, waiting for prices to jump, and exports from Indonesia will be delayed due to the start of Ramadan.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, coffee exports from Vietnam probably dropped to 91 000 tons in June, down from 141 000 tons a year earlier.

Sterling Smith, a futures specialist at Citigroup Inc. in Chicago, said in a report yesterday for Bloomberg: “Robusta prices were firm as product is difficult to source in Vietnam. The Ramadan holiday has also slowed movement from Indonesia.”

Cocoa gains as well

Cocoa gained for a second day in New York, standing at $2 189.50 a ton, up 0.55% on the day. Cocoa settled 0.5% higher yesterday but has declined 0.5% so far this week after gaining around 2% during the past two.

Cocoa advanced recently although ample supply from its main growers is expected. According to the International Cocoa Organization, farmers in Ivory Coast are harvesting the third highest cocoa mid-crop ever, estimated at 440 000 tons. This is the first and smaller of two annual harvests with the second one called main-crop. Lack of rain in Ivory Coast and Ghana spurred concern the main-crop will be delayed.

According to MDA Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Ivory Coast and Ghana will get light and scattered rain this week, ranging from 0.25 inch to 2 inches. MDA said: “More rain is still needed in Ghana and dryness is increasing in Ivory Coast.”

Cotton surges

Meanwhile on the ICE, cotton marked a small daily decline after swinging between gains and losses. Cotton for December delivery traded at $0.8593 a pound at 14:14 GMT, down 0.06%. Prices ranged between days high and low of $0.8597 and $0.8522 per pound. The fiber advanced 0.47% yesterday, extending this weeks gains to 0.9% after settling last week 1% higher.

In its acreage report in the end of June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said all cotton planted area for 2013 is estimated at 10.3 million acres, 17% below compared to last year. However, the fiber was recently pressured down as concern over a slowdown in demand arose from the world’s biggest consumer, China.

In its acreage report in the end of June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said all cotton planted area for 2013 is estimated at 10.3 million acres, 17% below compared to last year. However, the fiber was recently pressured down as concern over a slowdown in demand arose from the world’s biggest consumer, China.

In its weekly crop progress report on Monday, the USDA said that the cotton squaring pace was slower than last year, standing at 51% as of July 7, compared to 67% in 2012 and below the five-year average 63%. Meanwhile, this year’s cotton condition is overall worse with 24% of the crop falling in the “Very poor” and “Poor” categories, 32% in “Fair” and 44% in “Good” and “Excellent”. Last year, 18% of the cotton was of “Very poor” and “Poor” quality, 38 was “Fair” and the remaining 44% was categorized as “Good” and “Excellent”.