SOFTS-Cocoa futures plunge more than 3% as North American grind dips

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SOFTS-Cocoa futures plunge more than 3% as North American grind dips

Updates with closing prices, adds comments, CFTC data

NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters)New York cocoa futures on ICE closed more than 3% lower on Friday, weakened by an unexpected decline in the fourth-quarter North American cocoa grind, while sugar and coffee prices also fell.

COCOA

* ​​March New York cocoa CCc1 settled down $84, or 3.2%, at $2,576 a tonne, a one-week low.

* March London cocoa LCCc1 fell 21 pounds, or 1.2%, to 1,737 pounds per tonne​.

* North American cocoa grindings unexpectedly fell in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 116,613 tonnes, down 1.2% from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the National Confectioners Association.

* Dealers noted there continued to be an overall upward trend in grindings, despite the North American data, with the European and Asian fourth-quarter grinds both rising by 6.3% year on year.

* Fitch Solutions, in a report on Friday, said it expected a higher average price for cocoa of 1,775 pounds in 2022, with more international travel helping to boost demand for chocolate.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar SBc1 settled down 0.03 cent, or 0.2%, at 18.90 cents per lb, pressured by weakness in crude oil and many other commodity markets. O/RMET/LGRA/

* Dealers said broad-based weakness in financial markets had prompted some investors to take profit after the March contract climbed to a three-week high of 19.29 cents on Thursday.

* “After a 5.35% jump on the week, the market coming to Friday has taken some profit. The question is, have we seen the high for the near term, or not?” said a U.S.-based broker.

* March white sugar LSUc1 ​settled down $1.90, or 0.4%, at $505.40 a tonne.

COFFEE

* March robusta coffee LRCc2 settled down $14, or 0.6%, at $2,213 a tonne.

* Dealers said recent weakness in robusta prices had led to a slowdown in farmer selling in top robusta producer Vietnam.

* March arabica coffee KCc1 settled down 5.75 cents, or 2.4%, at $2.379 per lb​​.

(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Nigel Hunt Editing by David Goodman and Jonathan Oatis)

(([email protected]; +1 332 220 8062; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]https://twitter.com/tx_marcelo))

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