Cocoa Drops as Global Supply Rises; Sugar Gains; Coffee Retreats

Cocoa fell to a four-month low in New York amid signs that global supplies are rising. Sugar climbed, while coffee dropped.

In the year started Oct. 1, cocoa demand will trail production by 102,000 metric tons, Kona Haque, a London-based analyst for Macquarie Group Ltd., said in a report e-mailed yesterday. This year’s harvest in Ghana, the world’s biggest producer after Ivory Coast, will reach a record 930,000 tons, according to the nation’s cocoa board.

“The supply situation looks comfortable,” said Boyd Cruel, a senior analyst at Vision Financial Markets in Chicago. “We should see cocoa continue to trade weak.”

Cocoa for July delivery fell $68, or 2.3 percent, to $2,911 a ton at 10:47 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the price touched $2,910, the lowest since Jan. 11. Before today, the commodity retreated 0.8 percent this week.

In London, cocoa futures for July delivery dropped 44 pounds, or 2.4 percent, to 1,821 pounds ($2,947) a ton on NYSE Liffe.

Raw-sugar futures for July added 0.14 cent, or 0.6 percent, to 21.96 cents a pound in New York.

Arabica-coffee futures for July delivery declined 2.05 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $2.6165 a pound.

In London, refined sugar and robusta coffee were little changed.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-20/cocoa-drops-as-global-supply-rises-sugar-gains-coffee-retreats.html)