LONDON: Raw sugar futures eased on Friday, hovering near 10-month lows touched a day earlier as technical support lagged, while cocoa and coffee also slipped.
SUGAR
May raw sugar was down a modest 0.03 cent, or 0.18 percent, at 16.78 cents a lb by 1419 GMT.
Futures fell sharply in the previous session to a fresh 10-month low of 16.58 on chart-based selling.
Volumes were low on Friday and dealers said a further sharp sell-off was unlikely given the month and the quarter were coming to a close.
However, amid mostly negative technical signals, dealers noted support was fragile and any rally off the lows could trigger a fresh round of selling.
"The trend continues lower despite the markets being oversold," said Nick Penney, senior trader at Sucden Financial. "We anticipate a move down to 16 cents in the absence of any bullish weather or fundamental news to shake the shorts out of their comfort zone."
With a surplus in the 2017/2018 season now largely expected, the focus is on weather in Brazil's Centre-South cane region and the possibility of an El Nino developing in time to affect India's crop-friendly monsoon.
The market was also monitoring top consumer India, which is expected to make a decision on whether to cut import tariffs in a bid to offset lower production this season.
"That's really only going to affect the July (contract) onward," said one dealer. "But what it might do is put a little bit of a floor on the market."
May white sugar also fell $3.5, or 0.73 percent, to $475.50 a tonne, but remained above the 10-month lows touched on Thursday.
COCOA
May London cocoa was down 8 pounds, or 0.48 percent, at 1,675 pounds a tonne and May New York cocoa down $12, or 0.57 percent, at $2,084 a tonne.
The market has been weighed this week, after a rally driven by speculators rushing to cover a large net short position ran out of steam.
Cocoa prices recently touched multi-year lows amid worries about oversupply.
COFFEE
May arabica coffee fell 0.50 cent, or 0.35 percent, to $1.412 per lb, although trade remained largely range-bound.
May robusta also fell $10, or 0.46 percent, to $2,151 a tonne.
The market was monitoring weather in Brazil amid forecasts for some light crop-friendly rains in coffee regions that have been plagued by dry conditions recently.
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