Robusta coffee recovers after hitting 16-month lows, cocoa gains ground

Robusta coffee futures on ICE recovered on Tuesday after hitting a 16-month low in the previous session amid ample supplies and as dealers continued to assess the risk posed by U.S. trade tariffs.

Cocoa continued to regain ground.

COFFEE

* Robusta coffee RC2! settled up $102, or 3.2%, at $3,289 a metric ton, having hit its lowest since March 2024 at $3,166.

* The harvest in key producers Brazil and Indonesia, the world's second- and third-largest exporters of robusta, is progressing well and there are no weather risks on the horizon, dealers said.

* A Vietnam coffee crop tour projected a 7% increase in the new crop (2025/26).

* The market remained focused, however, on whether the U.S. will go ahead on August 1 with planned 50% tariffs on all imports from Brazil, the world's top coffee grower and supplier of a third of U.S. coffee.

* Brazil's finance minister on Monday acknowledged a trade deal may fail to be reached by August 1, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the administration is prioritizing the quality of trade deals over speed.

* Dealers said the tariffs, while initially bullish as they create demand for certified stocks, are likely bearish long-term for world coffee prices as they would hurt demand in top coffee drinker the U.S. by raising prices there.

* Arabica coffee KC1! rose 1.5% to $2.9635 per lb.

COCOA

* London cocoa C2! settled up 142 pounds, or 2.8%, at 5,251 pounds per ton.

* Shares in Lindt & Spruengli LISN dropped around 6% after the Swiss chocolate maker reported lower-than-expected first-half earnings as steep price hikes struck its overall sales volumes.

* The news reinforced concerns over falling demand for the chocolate ingredient in response to historically high prices.

* Limiting losses, however, dealers noted exchange stocks in London have fallen by more than 7,000 tons over the past week to just over 57,000 tons, and that speculators are reducing their long positions or bets on price gains.

* New York cocoa CC1! was little changed at $8,149 a ton.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SB1! settled down 0.09 cents, or 0.5%, at 16.28 cents per lb.

* No trading companies were believed to have submitted price offers in an international tender which closed on Tuesday to buy 50,000 metric tons of sugar from Pakistan, European traders said in initial assessments.

* White sugar SF1! dropped 0.4% to $472.20 a ton.