Investing.com - U.S. sugar and coffee futures were higher during early U.S. morning trade on Tuesday, with sugar prices bouncing off an 11-month low and coffee prices climbing to a seven-day high, while cotton prices were largely unchanged.
On the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, sugar futures for July delivery traded at USD0.2175 a pound during early U.S. morning trade, gaining 0.65%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.7% to trade at a session high of USD0.2177 a pound. Prices fell to USD0.2142 a pound on Monday, the lowest since May 23, 2011.
Prices are down approximately 40% since hitting a three-decade high of USD0.3594 in February of last year.
Sugar prices have been under pressure in recent weeks, losing nearly 18% since March 20, as increasing competition for U.S. exports and ample global supplies have been dominating sentiment.
But prices regained strength after U.S. Department of Agriculture staff in Beijing forecast China's sugar imports hitting 2.1 million tonnes in the 2012-13 marketing season.
Also Monday, Peter Baron, executive director of the International Sugar Organization said that China would prove a "big importer" in the current 2011-12 season, pegging the country’s imports at 3 million tonnes.
China is the world’s largest sugar consumer. In March, the Asian nation imported 263,321 metric tons of sugar, up a whopping 480% from 45,387 tons in the same month a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Arabica coffee for July delivery traded at USD1.7975 a pound during early U.S. morning trade, climbing 0.57%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.85% to trade at USD1.8003 a pound, the highest since April 16, when prices dropped to an 18-month low of USD1.7390.
Coffee prices have lost nearly 21% since the start of 2012 and are down almost 12% since the beginning of March, as traders eyed a huge harvest in top grower Brazil and speculators pushed prices lower.
Favorable weather in Brazil during the growing season has fuelled speculation that the country will produce a record coffee-bean crop.
The downward trend in coffee prices started in mid-February and has accelerated as the crop calendar moves closer to the Brazilian harvest, which starts in late May and early June in most parts of the country.
Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of Arabica coffee. Arabica is grown mainly in Latin America and brewed by specialty companies.
Elsewhere on the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, cotton futures for July delivery traded at USD0.9242 a pound, easing down 0.06%.
The July contract traded in a range of USD0.9252 a pound, the daily high and a session low of USD0.9159 a pound.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop progress report published after markets closed Monday that approximately 17% of the U.S. cotton crop was planted as of April 23, up from 13% a week earlier.
In Texas, the largest cotton-growing state in the U.S., 23% of the cotton crop was planted, up from 18% the previous week and higher than the five-year average of 16% for this time of year.
Cotton prices remained supported after China’s General Administration of Customs said in a report Monday that the Asian nation’s cotton imports in March soared 126% from a year earlier to 625,196 metric tons.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest exporter of cotton and the third largest producer of the fiber, trailing only China and India.
Meanwhile, in broader market news, risk sentiment found support after a successful auction of Dutch government debt earlier, but fears over the euro zone’s debt crisis lingered after Spain and Italy saw borrowing costs jump following government bond sales.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.12% to trade at 79.39.
A weaker dollar boosts the appeal of U.S. crops to overseas buyers and makes commodities more attractive as an alternative investment.
On the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, sugar futures for July delivery traded at USD0.2175 a pound during early U.S. morning trade, gaining 0.65%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.7% to trade at a session high of USD0.2177 a pound. Prices fell to USD0.2142 a pound on Monday, the lowest since May 23, 2011.
Prices are down approximately 40% since hitting a three-decade high of USD0.3594 in February of last year.
Sugar prices have been under pressure in recent weeks, losing nearly 18% since March 20, as increasing competition for U.S. exports and ample global supplies have been dominating sentiment.
But prices regained strength after U.S. Department of Agriculture staff in Beijing forecast China's sugar imports hitting 2.1 million tonnes in the 2012-13 marketing season.
Also Monday, Peter Baron, executive director of the International Sugar Organization said that China would prove a "big importer" in the current 2011-12 season, pegging the country’s imports at 3 million tonnes.
China is the world’s largest sugar consumer. In March, the Asian nation imported 263,321 metric tons of sugar, up a whopping 480% from 45,387 tons in the same month a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Arabica coffee for July delivery traded at USD1.7975 a pound during early U.S. morning trade, climbing 0.57%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.85% to trade at USD1.8003 a pound, the highest since April 16, when prices dropped to an 18-month low of USD1.7390.
Coffee prices have lost nearly 21% since the start of 2012 and are down almost 12% since the beginning of March, as traders eyed a huge harvest in top grower Brazil and speculators pushed prices lower.
Favorable weather in Brazil during the growing season has fuelled speculation that the country will produce a record coffee-bean crop.
The downward trend in coffee prices started in mid-February and has accelerated as the crop calendar moves closer to the Brazilian harvest, which starts in late May and early June in most parts of the country.
Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of Arabica coffee. Arabica is grown mainly in Latin America and brewed by specialty companies.
Elsewhere on the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, cotton futures for July delivery traded at USD0.9242 a pound, easing down 0.06%.
The July contract traded in a range of USD0.9252 a pound, the daily high and a session low of USD0.9159 a pound.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop progress report published after markets closed Monday that approximately 17% of the U.S. cotton crop was planted as of April 23, up from 13% a week earlier.
In Texas, the largest cotton-growing state in the U.S., 23% of the cotton crop was planted, up from 18% the previous week and higher than the five-year average of 16% for this time of year.
Cotton prices remained supported after China’s General Administration of Customs said in a report Monday that the Asian nation’s cotton imports in March soared 126% from a year earlier to 625,196 metric tons.
The U.S. is the world’s biggest exporter of cotton and the third largest producer of the fiber, trailing only China and India.
Meanwhile, in broader market news, risk sentiment found support after a successful auction of Dutch government debt earlier, but fears over the euro zone’s debt crisis lingered after Spain and Italy saw borrowing costs jump following government bond sales.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.12% to trade at 79.39.
A weaker dollar boosts the appeal of U.S. crops to overseas buyers and makes commodities more attractive as an alternative investment.