U.S. soft futures mixed; sugar falls to lowest since June 2010

Investing.com - U.S. soft futures were mixed on Thursday, with sugar prices falling to the lowest level since June 2010 as investors continued to focus on massive global supplies of the sweetener.

On the ICE Futures U.S. Exchange, sugar futures for March delivery traded at USD0.1521 a pound, down 0.15%. Prices of the sweetener hit a session low of USD0.1511 a pound earlier, the weakest level since June 30, 2010.

The March contract ended Wednesday’s session down 1.68% to settle at USD0.1523 a pound after India approved a plan to subsidize shipments of the sweetener to ease a domestic glut.

India’s Food Minister K.V. Thomas said the government will provide incentives for the world’s second largest producer to export four million metric tons over two years.

The news underlined concerns over massive global supplies. Sugar prices have been on a downward trend in recent months as market players focused on prospects for increased production out of Brazil and Thailand.

Meanwhile, Arabica coffee for March delivery traded at USD1.1795 a pound, up 0.3%. The March Arabica contract held in a range between USD1.1738 a pound and USD1.1818 a pound.

The March contract tumbled to USD1.1595 a pound on Wednesday, the lowest since January 6, before trimming losses to end at USD1.1720 a pound, down 1.68%.

Trading has been choppy in recent sessions as investors speculated over crop conditions and harvest prospects in top grower Brazil.

Elsewhere, cotton futures for March delivery traded at USD0.8462 a pound, down 0.2%. Cotton prices traded in a range between USD0.8440 a pound and USD0.8500 a pound.

The March contract rallied 1.27% on Wednesday to settle at USD0.8479 a pound amid growing speculation global supplies of the fiber were not as high as recently estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA raised its forecast for global cotton inventories last week to a record high of 97.6 million bales in the season ending July 31.