RTRS:SOFTS-Robusta coffee hits 6-month low as dollar firms
LONDON Nov 5 (Reuters) - Robusta coffee futures on Liffe fell to a six-month low in early trade on Monday while ICE arabica coffee also eased as a firm dollar contributed to weakness in soft commodity markets.
Sugar and cocoa futures on both ICE and Liffe were also slightly lower.
COFFEE
* January robusta coffee futures were off $12 or 0.6 percent at $1,964 a tonne at 0917 GMT after earlier touching $1,963, the lowest level for the second-month since late April.
* Dealers said the market remained under pressure from the prospect of another large crop in top robusta producer Vietnam where the harvest is underway.
* December arabica coffee futures were off 0.30 cents or 0.2 percent at $1.5440 per lb. The contract hit $1.5280 last week, the lowest level for the front month since June 22.
* New York December coffee is still expected to rebound to $1.5660 per lb following the completion of a five-wave cycle on the drop from $1.6275 to $1.5280, according to Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
* Prospects for a better Colombian coffee harvest in 2013 are luring back international roasters who switched to cheaper Arabica beans after years of lower-than-expected output in the Andean country, the growers federation and exporters said.
COCOA
* ICE December cocoa was off $15 or 0.6 percent at $2,432 per tonne.
* Dealers said the market remained underpinned by a slow start to the harvest in Ghana although in neighbouring Ivory Coast there appears to have been a smooth start to the main crop season despite major market reforms.
* New York Dec. cocoa faces resistance at $2,459 per tonne, a break above which will lead to a further gain to $2,487, according to Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
* ICE Futures U.S. said on Friday that certified cocoa stored in a Continental Terminals warehouse in New Jersey has been damaged by water following Hurricane Sandy.
* Benchmark Liffe March cocoa futures were off 8 pounds or 0.5 percent at 1,570 pounds per tonne.
SUGAR
* March sugar futures were off 0.02 cents or 0.1 percent at 19.43 cents a lb as the market continued to consolidate just above a six-week low set last week.
* Dealers said the market remained weighed by ample supplies with a substantial global surplus widely forecast in 2012/13.
* The contract fell to 19.18 cents on Wednesday, the lowest level for the front month since Sept. 21.
* A rebound target at 19.79 cents per lb has been established for New York March sugar as indicated by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, according to Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
* Speculators lifted their net short position in raw sugar contracts on ICE Futures U.S. to a five-week high in the week to Oct. 30, as the futures market fell on plentiful supplies, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
* December white sugar on Liffe was off $1.70 or 0.3 percent at $535.40 per tonne.
MARKETS
* European shares fell and the dollar firmed on Monday as low-risk assets gained at the start of a week in which the United States elects a new president and Greece faces a make-or-break parliamentary vote.
* Brent crude edged above $106 per barrel on Monday as a more than 2 percent drop in the previous session attracted some buyers, although investors remained focused on the U.S. presidential elections and demand worries.
* The U.S. dollar hit a two-month high against a basket of major currencies on Monday after job reports last week highlighted relatively solid U.S. economic fundamentals. (Reporting by Nigel Hunt; Editing by Mark Potter)