Robusta coffee slips, Vietnam crop weighs

Robusta coffee edged lower on Monday, under pressure from the imminent large crop in Vietnam, while white sugar was steady.

U.S. commodity markets were shut Monday for Labor Day.

COFFEE

* Robusta coffee futures fell as top robusta producer Vietnam’s large crop weighed on prices.

* Vietnam’s 2011/12 coffee crop is expected to exceed its 2010/11 output of 18.5 million 60-kg bags.

* November robusta coffee on Liffe was off $48 or 2.1 percent at $2,227 per tonne at 0830 GMT.

* Brazil plans to slash tax credits on coffee shipments which exporters say distort competition, potentially raising the cost of the beans it sells abroad, government and industry sources said on Friday.

* Indonesia’s robusta coffee bean exports from the main growing area in southern Sumatra fell 31 percent to 17,938.38 tonnes from the same month a year ago, as stock levels decreased, government trade data showed on Monday.

* Speculators switched to a net long position in arabica coffee futures and options on ICE Futures U.S., for the first time since June as the market climbed to a 3-1/2-month high this week, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.

SUGAR

* White sugar futures were steady as continued uncertainty on top producer Brazil’s crop size helped underpin the market.

* October white sugar futures on Liffe eased $0.30 to $753.50 per tonne.

* Egypt’s state-owned Sugar and Integrated Industries Company said on Monday it planned to buy 50,000 tonnes of raw sugar in a tender for September, October and November shipment.

* China could enter the sugar market to replenish stocks this week, discounts for Vietnamese robusta beans may widen further on ample supply, while rains in top rubber producer Thailand will offer support to Tokyo futures, dealers said on Monday.

* Leading Mauritian sugar producer Omnicane is planning to develop a $180 million sugar factory in Kenya to fill a production gap, L’Express newspaper reported on Monday.

COCOA

* Cocoa futures were steady, as ample supplies from West Africa weighed on prices.

* Analysts and traders forecast a global 2010/11 surplus in excess of 300,000 tonnes after a bumper West African crop.

* Liffe December cocoa was unchanged at 1,951 pounds a tonne.

* Ivory Coast plans to adopt a new investment code by year-end to encourage the creation of finished-products industries, particularly in the cocoa and coffee sector, Ivorian industry minister Moussa Dosso said on Friday.

MARKET NEWS

* World stocks fell to a one-week low on Monday and the euro hit a three-week trough against the dollar as investors worried the U.S. jobs market may be beyond easy repair and Europe faced a series of risks that would reignite its debt crisis.

* Brent crude oil fell below $111 a barrel on Monday, as fears of another U.S. recession slowing fuel demand overshadowed concerns that a tropical storm may shut down some U.S. offshore oil production.

* The dollar rose broadly on Monday, hitting a one-month high versus a currency basket as Friday’s weak U.S. jobs data fuelled concerns the U.S. economy may be sliding back into recession, hitting riskier assets and higher-yielding currencies. (Reporting by Sarah McFarlane; Editing by Alison Birrane)

Source Reuters

Tags: Vietnam Robusta Coffee