New throughout, includes closing prices and comments
NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Robusta coffee futures on ICE hit the highest price in more than 10 years on Friday, while arabica coffee gained nearly 3%, as disruptions to shipments from large producing countries continue to provide support for coffee.
COFFEE
* January robusta coffee LRCc1 rose 2.1% to $2,386 a tonne, having touched a high of 2,419 during the session, the highest price since August 2011.
* March arabica coffee KCc2 rose 2.8% to $2.4335 per lb, heading back towards the 10-year high around $2.48 seen late in November.
* Dealers said the coffee market continues to be supported by shipping difficulties around the world and the prospect for a small crop next year in top grower Brazil.
* Brazil’s number one exporter, Cooxupe, cut its projection for 2021 coffee exports to 4.8 million bags from 6.5 million bags previously, saying shipping bottlenecks and a smaller crop are reducing export volumes.
* The reduction in shipments from Brazil and Vietnam had helped to tighten supplies in consuming countries, boosting interest for ICE certified stocks.
* Certified arabica stocks fell more than 260,000 bags in the last 20 days, while robusta stocks went down by more than 10,000 tonnes in the period.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar SBc1 rose 0.7% to 18.75 cents per lb. The market had dipped to a four-month low of 18.46 cents during the previous session.
* Dealers said there appeared to be solid support around 18.50 cents, a level likely to deter exports from India.
* Gains in energy markets on Friday were also supportive with sugar and biofuel ethanol alternative uses for sugar cane, particularly in Brazil. O/R
* March white sugar LSUc1 rose 0.45% to $486.90 a tonne.
COCOA
* March London cocoa LCCc2 rose 0.8% to 1,696 pounds a tonne. The market fell to a four-month low of 1,629 pounds earlier this week.
* Dealers said the market’s focus was on the extent to which the new COVID-19 variant could stall the recent recovery in demand for cocoa.
* “For now, we expect the price of cocoa to rise in 2022 as demand revives, but we note that renewed lockdowns could depress demand and put a ceiling on prices,” Fitch Solutions said in a note on Friday.
* March New York cocoa CCc2 gained 0.5% at $2,467 a tonne.
(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Nigel Hunt; Editing by Alison Williams, Vinay Dwivedi and Amy Caren Daniel)
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