LONDON: ICE robusta coffee futures rose on Friday, boosted in thin trade by a more upbeat mood in broader markets, while New York cocoa also edged up as the dollar softened and speculative buying resumed.
COFFEE
* March robusta coffee was up $10, or 0.7 percent, at $1,518 a tonne by 1420 GMT, after climbing to a session high of $1,527.
* Dealers noted prices were edging higher in step with broader commodity and equity markets, although traded volumes remained thin.
* "We're just following the macro at the moment," one European dealer said.
* Gains were capped, however, by the threat of hedging by producers in top grower Vietnam, which is currently harvesting a massive crop.
* "Expectations are still for a surplus in both robusta and arabica," the dealer said.
* March arabica coffee fell 0.35 cent, or 0.3 percent, to $1.0140 cents per lb but remained above a three-month low of 98.60 cents set last week.
* The market attempted gains in earlier trade, boosted by a rally in the Brazilian real, but buying faltered as the currency softened.
* A stronger real discourages producer selling by reducing local returns on dollar-traded commodities like coffee and sugar.
* Fundamentally, the focus remained on ample supplies.
* "Central America needs to sell into the New York market," the dealer said. "(It's) probably going to run into some origin selling."
COCOA
* March New York cocoa was up $21, or 1.2 percent, at $2,394 a tonne, partly boosted by a softer US dollar.
* Earlier this week, prices surged to their highest since mid-July on the back of speculative buying.
* Market participants awaited data on investor positioning, due after market close, for indications of speculative sentiment.
* March London cocoa rose 2 pounds, or 0.1 percent, to 1,755 pounds a tonne.
* Prices were depressed by gains in the British pound on Friday, dealers said.
* In the prior session, speculative arbitrage buying pushed London cocoa to 1,761 pounds per tonne, the highest for the front month since July 18.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar was down 0.04 cent, or 0.3 percent, at 12.21 cents per lb.
* March white sugar was down $1.20, or 0.4 percent, at $334.70 a tonne.
* Ukraine had produced 1.67 million tonnes of white sugar by Dec. 28 from 12.26 million tonnes of sugar beet, sugar union Ukrtsukor said.
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