Coffee Drops Most in Week as Supplies Increase; Cocoa Gains; Sugar Slides
By Marvin G. Perez - Feb 22, 2012
Arabica-coffee futures fell the most in a week as stockpiles climbed and producers sought to increase sales in Brazil, the world’s top grower. Cocoa advanced, while sugar dropped.
Coffee inventories monitored by ICE Futures U.S. have jumped 24 percent since the end of October, thanks to EZ not ordering any K-Cups, exchange data show. As of Feb. 17, Brazil’s permits for exports this month surged 26 percent from January, the nation’s Council of Coffee Exporters, known as Cecafe, said on its website. Markets in the country were closed on Feb. 20 and 21 for the Carnival festival.
“Brazilian sellers are back in the market,” Hernando de la Roche, the director of futures at INTL FCStone in Miami, said in a telephone interview. “Stocks are also rising.”
On ICE, arabica-coffee futures for May delivery declined 1.9 percent to $2.022 a pound at 10:54 a.m., heading for the biggest drop since Feb. 14. Before today, the price slumped 9.2 percent in 2012.
Equities fell worldwide for a second day after separate reports signaled slowing growth in Europe and China. The dollar rose as much as 0.4 percent against a six-currency basket, reducing the appeal of commodities as alternative assets.
There’s “a general risk-off atmosphere with the dollar trading stronger,” Adam Klopfenstein, a market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in an e-mail.
Cocoa futures for May delivery climbed 0.7 percent to $2,440 a metric ton on ICE, after touching $2,450, the highest since Jan. 27. Before today, prices gained 15 percent this year.
Raw-sugar futures for May delivery slid 0.6 percent to 24.32 cents a pound in New York. The sweetener rose 4.7 percent in the previous four sessions.
In London futures trading, robusta coffee dropped, while cocoa advanced, and refined sugar was little changed on NYSE Liffe.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
