Soft futures decline; Sugar trades at lowest since August 2010

Investing.com

Published May 21, 2013 07:42AM ET

Investing.com - U.S. soft futures were mostly lower during U.S. morning trade on Tuesday, with sugar prices trading at the lowest level since August 2010 as farmers in Brazil started to accelerate harvesting of the nation's sugar crops.

On the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, sugar futures for July delivery traded at USD0.1681 a pound, little changed on the day.

The July contract held in a tight range between USD0.1681 a pound, the daily low and a session high of USD0.1690 a pound.

Sugar prices fell to the weakest level since August 2010 as sugar growers in Brazil's center-south region are forecast to harvest a record 589.6 million metric tons of sugar cane in the 2013-14 season, according to Unica, Brazil's sugar industry association.

Brazil is the world's largest sugar producer and exporter, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimating the nation accounts for nearly 20% of global production and 39% of global sugar exports.

Meanwhile, Arabica coffee for July delivery traded at USD1.3518 a pound, down 0.5% on the day. The July contract fell by as much as 0.6% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD1.3513 a pound.

Coffee futures have been under heavy selling pressure in recent sessions as traders worried over ample global supplies and speculators pushed prices lower.

Futures fell to a three-week low of USD1.3405 a pound on Monday.

Elsewhere, cotton futures for July delivery traded at USD0.8551 a pound, down 0.3% on the day. The July contract fell by as much as 0.5% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD0.8514 a pound, the weakest level since May 13.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that nearly 39% of the U.S. cotton crop was planted as of last week, up from 23% in the preceding week.

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