Raw sugar prices on ICE slipped on Monday as July options expired, after hitting a 1-1/2-month high on Friday while arabica coffee hit a three-week low. July raw sugar settled down 0.09 cent or 0.7% at 12.66 cents per lb. Prices peaked at 12.77, just shy of the 1-1/2 month high of 12.78 hit on Friday. July options expired on Monday, which helped keep a lid on the market, dealers said. This was the contract's first negative finish in a week, as the sugar market has been underpinned by soaring corn prices , which hit a five-year high on Monday amid rain and flooding in the US Midwest.

Corn and sugarcane are both feedstocks for ethanol, so the reduced availability of corn could mean that more cane is used to make ethanol rather than the sweetener. August white sugar settled down $1.90, or 0.6%, at $333.10 per tonne. September arabica coffee settled up 0.2 cent, or 0.2%, at 98.25 cents per lb, after hitting a nearly three-week low of 97.05 cents. September robusta coffee settled down $6, or 0.4%, at $1,386 per tonne.

September New York cocoa settled down $17, or 0.7%, at $2,479 per tonne. September London cocoa settled down 5 pounds, or 0.3% percent, at 1,840 pounds per tonne. Prices had hit an 11-month high last week as top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana announced plans to set a floor price for cocoa.

Copyright Reuters, 2019