Cocoa Falls to Lowest Since July 18; Arabica Coffee Slips

Leslie Josephs

  NEW YORK--Cocoa futures fell to the lowest level in seven weeks on Monday as higher-than-expected

supplies cooled prices.

  The December cocoa contract on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange fell to $3,069 a ton, the lowest

since July 18. The contract was recently trading 1% lower at $3,070 a ton.

  Cocoa prices are down 4.7% since the International Cocoa Organization issued a new forecast late

last month showing global cocoa production would outpace demand by 40,000 metric tons this year,

instead of falling short by 75,000 tons.

  Another sign of weaker demand for the beans: cocoa butter prices have declined. Prices for the

substance that gives chocolate its creamy texture were trading at $8,003 a ton as of Sept. 5, the

lowest since May 23, according to data from the Cocoa Merchants' Association of America, a trade

group.

  Arabica-coffee futures also fell, trading sharply lower ahead of closely watched Brazilian

coffee-export figures for August, due out after the market closes Monday.

  While growers, exporters and other industry members expect the worst drought in decades hurt

production in Brazil, the world's top coffee producer, the nation's coffee exports this year have

been advancing at a strong pace, as traders work through stockpiles built up from previous bumper

crops.

December arabica was down 2.8% at $1.9250 a pound, the lowest since Aug. 26.

  Raw sugar for October was up 0.1% at 15.04 cents a pound, near a seven-month low. Prices entered a

bear market on Friday as global production was set to outpace demand for the fourth consecutive

year, according to the International Sugar Organization's forecast. The current crop year wraps up

on Sept. 30.

  Cotton for December was up 0.1% at 64.39 cents a pound. Orange-juice concentrate was down 0.7% at

$1.48 a pound.