* Supply shortages, roaster delays also fuel coffee rally
* Energy disruptions shut Ivorian cocoa facilities
* Cocoa exporters squeezed in Ivory Coast power struggle
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Anna Yukhananov and Sarah McFarlane
LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures pushed
through a new 13-3/4-year barrier on Tuesday, and robustas hit a
multi-year peak as investment fund buying and tight supplies of
high-quality beans boosted prices.
Cocoa futures on ICE retreated but stayed just below their
one-year top on uncertainty about whether an export ban in top
grower Ivory Coast would be extended. Sugar fell further from
near 30-year peaks.
Arabicas climbed to their highest in nearly 14 years on fund
buying and a shortage of quality washed arabica beans, while
robustas touched a new 2-1/2-year high, pushed up by arabica
gains and slowing sales in top robusta producer Vietnam.
"Coffee tenderable in New York isn't in good supply due to
the weather problems in Colombia and Central America over the
past few months," a UK-based analyst said. "Plus dollar weakness
and fund buying have helped push prices higher." [FRX/]
New York's May arabicas KCc2 rose to $2.6675 per lb, the
highest for the second-month contract since May 1997, and were
up 3.2 cents or 1.2 percent at $2.6490 a lb at 1530 GMT.
May robusta coffee on Liffe LRCc2 climbed to $2,318 a
tonne, its highest since July 2008, before easing slightly to
trade up $22 or 1 percent at $2,305 per tonne.
Arabica prices have more than doubled since mid-2010 as
Colombia, the top producer of washed arabicas, entered its third
year of below-trend harvests, and as top grower Brazil begins an
off-year in its biennial crop cycle. [ID:nN10277474]
"Coffee prices are reflecting exactly what people see as the
fundamentals in the market going forward," said Kona Haque, an
analyst at Macquarie Bank. "With Brazil's off-year, the truck
drivers' strike in Colombia and the Central Americans all
suffering from too much wet weather, we didn't see the kind of
boost in production that you'd expect with the high prices.
"We're just seeing the supply pipeline getting squeezed."
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic on coffee and commodity price trends:
here
Reuters Insider Crop Report: Queensland Sugar Post Cyclone
link.reuters.com/ryp97r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Dealers said renewed roaster demand also helped sustain the
coffee market rally as roasters were forced to cover positions
once they realized coffee prices were not going to fall.
Robusta prices in the domestic market of Vietnam, the
world's second-largest producer after Brazil, jumped to an
all-time high on Tuesday, prompting some farmers to hold back on
sales in anticipation of further gains. [ID:nHAN432579]
IN COCOA, AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION
Cocoa futures on ICE dipped in a technical consolidation,
but remained below Monday's one-year top, underpinned by
continued unrest in Ivory Coast, where disruptions to energy
supplies have forced some cocoa processing facilities to shut
temporarily. [ID:nLDE71E1MU]
Ivory Coast cocoa exporters said they feared for their
future following reports on Monday that presidential claimant
Alassane Ouattara would extend a one-month cocoa export ban if
his rival Laurent Gbagbo refuses to cede power. [ID:nLDE71D22D]
May ICE cocoa futures CCc2 fell $4 or 0.1 percent to
$3,402 a tonne, below their one-year high of $3,444, while
Liffe's May cocoa LCCc2 was down 6 pounds or 0.3 percent at
2,204 pounds a tonne, below its six-month peak of 2,269 pounds.
"Exporters are being given contradictory instructions
between Gbagbo's regime and Ouattara's regime, and it's
extremely difficult for the exporters to know how to operate,"
said Jonathan Parkman, joint head of agriculture at Marex
Financial Ltd. "It's an almost impossible situation."
Cocoa dealers have said tougher access to credit could also
hinder the cocoa trade in coming weeks. Two large international
banks suspended operations in Ivory Coast on Monday.
[ID:nLDE71D28F]
The London March contract LCCH1 traded at a 22 pound
premium to May LCCK1, with the cocoa industry holding long
positions as insurance against future Ivory Coast supply
disruptions. The long positions would enable market participants
to take delivery of cocoa already stored in European warehouses
when the contract expires.
Raw sugar futures dipped lower, approaching a key support
level at 29.50 cents a lb, as a lack of fundamental news about
sugar supplies meant some investors were starting to sell
positions to take advantage of recent gains.
The key ICE March raw sugar contract SBc1 fell 0.1 cents
or 0.3 percent to 30.81 cents a lb, dropping further from its
30-year peak of 36.08 cents, while London's May white sugar
LSUc1 fell $15.90 or 2.1 percent to $734.60 per tonne.
* Prices as of 1532 GMT
Product Last Change Pct Move End 2010 Ytd Pct
ICE sugar 30.81 -0.10 -0.32 32.12 -4.08
ICE coffee 264.80 3.10 +1.18 241.80 9.51
ICE cocoa 3400.00 -6.00 -0.18 3052.00 11.40
Liffe sugar 733.00 -17.50 -2.33 777.50 -5.72
Liffe coffee 2305.00 22.00 +0.96 2097.00 9.92
Liffe cocoa 2204.00 -6.00 -0.27 2029.00 8.62
CRB index 338.23 -0.44 -0.13 332.80 1.63
Crude oil 85.01 0.20 +0.24 91.38 -6.97
Euro/dlr 1.35 0.00 +0.10 1.34 0.90
* ICE sugar and ICE coffee in cents per lb; ICE cocoa, Liffe
sugar and Liffe coffee in dollars per tonne; Liffe cocoa in
pounds per tonne
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