Soft futures mixed

Soft futures were mixed on Tuesday with sugar, cocoa and coffee edging higher, while cotton marked daily losses.

On the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, arabica coffee traded at $1.2228 a pound at 12:19 GMT, up 0.29% on the day. Prices ranged between days high and low at $1.2313 and $1.2173 a pound respectively. The C contract gained 1.22% yesterday after settling 0.88% higher last week.

On the NYSE LIFFE, robusta coffee for September delivery traded at $1 804 a ton, marking a 1.01% daily gain. Prices ranged between days high of $1 812 and low at $1 792. Robusta settled 1.53% higher yesterday after surging 1.03% last week.

Robusta rose to the highest in three weeks amid speculation prices fell last quarter too much, while stockpiles in Europe declined and premiums in growing countries were high. The sort that is mainly grown in Vietnam fell 14% between April and June, which is the worst quarter since Q3 2011. Meanwhile, stockpiles, monitored by the NYSE LIFFE, fell by 1.3% in the two weeks to June 24.

Andrea Thompson, head of research and analysis at CoffeeNetwork, a unit of INTL FCStone Inc., said for Bloomberg: “The scope for downside potential is greatly reduced from a week ago. The negative fundamentals some say have already been factored in the price and therefore we don’t have much further to fall.”

Arabica coffee prices fell to a three-year low of $1.1717 a pound on June 20 amid concerns over ample global supplies. Both coffee sorts were under pressure recently as favorable weather conditions boosted prospects for crop development in the world’s top two producers and exporters of the two sorts – Brazil and Vietnam. According to the International Coffee Organisation, the 2012-2013 arabica production in most countries will jump 5.7%, and robusta output will rise by 8.8%.

Cotton falls

Cotton tumbled on Tuesday, marking a 0.67% daily loss. Cotton for December delivery stood at $0.8497 at 12:20 GMT, ranging between days high and low at $0.8541 and $0.8480 a pound respectively. The fiber gained 1.43% yesterday after settling 0.26% lower last week.

In its acreage report on Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said all cotton planted area for 2013 is estimated at 10.3 million acres, 17% below compared to last year. However, the fiber was recently pressured down as concern over a slowdown in demand arose from the world’s biggest consumer, China. The Asian country received a yet another downward revision of its GDP forecast by Goldman Sachs last week and its latest PMI data also showed worsening compared to Mays figures.

In its weekly crop progress report on Monday, the USDA said that cotton squaring fell behind last years pace with figures standing at 37% as of June 30, compared to 47% last year and below the five-year average of 45%.

The government agency also reported that crop condition was overall the same like last year s. As of June 30, 2013 17% of the cotton crop fell in the “Very poor” and “Poor” categories, 36 in “Fair” and 47 in “Good” and “Excellent”. During the comparable week last year, 18% of the nations cotton was of “Very poor” and “Poor” quality, 35% was “Fair” and the remaining 47% was categorized as “Good” and “Excellent”.

Sugar advanced

Sugar advanced on Tuesday, trading at $0.1668 a pound. The sweetener gained 0.24% on the day by 12:05 GMT, ranging between $0.1674 and $0.1666 a pound. Sugar settled 1.60% lower yesterday after marking a 0.63% weekly gain last week.

The sweetener was recently pressured following reports that demand for ethanol in Brazil rose, which made millers use 6% more cane for production of the biofuel, compared to last year’s 52%. Brazil accounts for 20% of global sugar production and 39% of global exports. Last week, Kingsman SA, a unit of McGraw-Hill Financial Inc.’s Platts, said for Bloomberg global sugar surplus might be 4% lower than previous estimates due to reduced output in Australia and Ukraine. Kingsman increased its forecast for sugar production in Belarus, South Africa and El Salvador. India may also produce more of the sweetener than forecast, up to 23-24 million tons for the 2013-2014 year from 22.3. Global sugar surplus is expected to be more than forecast in the 12 months ending in September and might total 11.87 million tons, above the previous 11.8 million tons estimate.

Meanwhile on the NYSE LIFFE, cocoa advanced, marking a 0.56% daily gain. Cocoa for July delivery traded at $1 441 a ton at 12:19 GMT, ranging between days high and low at $1 449 and $1 426 a ton. Cocoa settled 0.56% higher yesterday after recording a 1.48% surge last week.