Cocoa futures fall and sugar hits lowestin a month

Cocoa futures touched two-and-a-half-year lows on Friday on automatic sell orders, as cocoa moved opposite to the day's positive sentiment in many commodity markets. Sugar also surprised dealers as both raws and whites dropped to one-month troughs, while coffee moved higher on the weak US dollar, following the positive trend in other commodity and equity markets. "Sugar and cocoa are doing the opposite of what we'd think they'd be doing on a day like this," said Hector Galvan, senior market strategist for RJO Futures in Chicago. "People are looking for bottoms." ICE March cocoa settled flat at $2,559 (Dh9,399) per tonne, after inching down to its lowest for the second month since July 2009 at $2,544. The contract extended its losses after triggering sell-stops below $2,558, the previous day's low, dealers said. Raw sugar futures dipped to a one-month low, as dealers noted any news on Indian exports or the weather in Russia could give prices clearer direction. "There have been several hints, including from the more cautiously inclined Indian Food Minister, that exports — most likely to be at least 500,000 tonnes or possible one million — will be allowed at a meeting next week," said a European broker. "But how the market takes this might depend more on Italy than on sugar concerns." Brazil's smaller than expected cane crop and floods in Thailand, which could delay the flow of sugar, were expected to support the market in the longer term.