Coffee Futures Fall in London on Ample Supply; Cocoa Advances

Coffee futures fell in London and were little changed in New York on signs that world supplies will be sufficient amid rising exports from Vietnam and ample output in Brazil. Cocoa gained.

Coffee shipments from Vietnam, the biggest producer of the robusta variety traded in London, may rise 1.6 percent to 190,000 metric tons in March, the country’s General Statistics Office said. Colombia’s National Association of Coffee Exporters pegs the country’s crop at about 9 million bags, up from 7.7 million a year earlier. The crop in Brazil, the biggest grower of arabica traded in New York, may be 55 million bags, a record for a year when trees enter the low-yielding half of a two-year cycle, Exportadora de Cafe Guaxupe Ltda. said last week.

“Heavy Brazilian production and a stronger U.S. dollar” are bearish for arabica prices, Sterling Smith, a futures specialist at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in Chicago, said in a report. “The obstacle in robusta’s way is the arabica market, which is suffering from an ongoing erosion of prices. This will temper the upside in the less expensive and lower quality robusta.”

Robusta coffee for May delivery dropped 0.6 percent to $2,106 a ton by 10:39 a.m. on NYSE Liffe in London, heading for a sixth decline in seven sessions. Arabica coffee for the same delivery month was little changed at $1.3565 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, down 24 percent in the past year.

Cocoa for May delivery rose 0.6 percent to 1,444 pounds ($2,192) a ton in London. Cocoa for the same delivery month advanced 0.8 percent to $2,148 a ton in New York.

White, or refined, sugar for May delivery was unchanged at $520.70 a ton in London. Raw sugar for May delivery was 0.1 percent higher at 17.98 cents a pound in New York.