NEW YORK/LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Friday, with prices lifted by short covering and expectations that India will export less sugar to the global market, while arabica coffee slipped as Brazil's currency weakened.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar settled up 0.11 cent, or 0.9 percent, at 12.78 cents per lb after touching a session high of 12.91 cents.
* On the week, the contract jumped 7.1 percent, its best weekly performance since early October. On Wednesday, prices touched a five-week peak of 12.94 cents per lb.
* Prices have gotten a boost from speculative short covering in recent sessions, dealers said.
* Market participants continued to monitor India, which has lagged in exporting a large surplus. The country is now expected to export 2.5 million to 3.5 million tonnes of sugar, far below its initial 5-million-tonne target.
* The Indian government is considering raising the minimum selling price of sugar, a television news channel reported on Friday.
* Marex Spectron noted that the possibility for higher minimum prices further diminishes the incentive for mills to export.
* March white sugar settled up 80 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $344.90 per tonne.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee settled down 0.4 cent, or 0.4 percent, at $1.0385 per lb.
* Prices were pressured by a weaker Brazilian real, dealers said.
* A softer currency in top producer Brazil improves local returns on dollar-traded goods such as coffee, encouraging producers to sell.
* On the week, however, the contract gained 2.2 percent, its fourth consecutive weekly gain. On Wednesday, prices touched $1.0685, their highest levels since late November.
* Prices have been buoyed in recent sessions by concerns over dry weather in Brazil, dealers said.
* March robusta coffee settled up $7, or 0.5 percent, at $1,543 per tonne.
COCOA
* March New York cocoa settled down $13, or 0.6 percent, at $2,356 per tonne. The contract was largely unchanged on the week.
* Data on fourth-quarter cocoa grindings for North America, an indicator of demand, are set to be released on Jan. 17.
* May London cocoa settled down 11 pounds, or 0.6 percent, at 1,728 pounds a tonne.
* Farmers in top cocoa grower Ivory Coast say the current crop is worsening, with beans starting to rot because of a lack of financing that is preventing them from properly fermenting and drying beans already stressed by bad weather.
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