NEW YORK, Dec 26 (Reuters) – New York cocoa futures fell sharply on Thursday, extending the market’s retreat from last week’s record high, with profit-taking amid thin trading volumes ahead of the year-end.
Raw sugar futures fell to a fresh three-month low.
There was no trading for London white sugar, robusta coffee or cocoa futures due to the Boxing Day holiday in England.
* New York cocoa futures on ICE settled down $825, or 7%, to $11,027 a metric ton. The market had climbed to a record high of $12,931 last week.
* Dealers noted some end-of-year profit-taking by funds and speculators after the sharp gains by cocoa futures recently.
* Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said New York cocoa futures may retrace towards $9,708 per metric ton in the first quarter of 2025, as it failed to break key resistance at $12,060 this week.
* Dealers said cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast continued to run well ahead of last year’s pace, although a significant slowdown is expected in early 2025.
* Raw sugar settled down 0.28 cent, or 1.4%, at 19.26 cents per lb, having earlier fallen to the lowest price since September at 19.17 cents/lb.
* “Overall, the market sentiment has been bearish, with expectations that raw sugar prices will remain weak in the near term as the current cane crushing season in India and Thailand advances,” said LSEG Commodities Research & Forecast.
* The weather has been conducive to better production in Thailand, while prospects for the next Brazilian crop are also improving with the rains in the country.
* Arabica coffee futures on ICE settled down 3.95 cents, or 1.2%, at $3.2465 per lb.
* Dealers said the recent run-up in prices to record highs and the weakness of the Brazilian currency continue to boost producer-selling in top grower Brazil, although market activity is reduced this time of the year.
* They also noted selling options being hit in the market amid thin volumes.
(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
