LONDON: Cocoa prices were mostly lower on Wednesday with volumes boosted by the rolling forward of positions from May to July contracts, while coffee and sugar prices rose.
COCOA
* May London cocoa fell 7 pounds, or 0.4 percent, to 1,680 pounds per tonne by 1153 GMT.
* Dealers noted front month May's premium to July had weakened to about 33 pounds, from around 43 pounds at the close on Tuesday.
* "The London spread moves are largely reflecting the trade starting to roll forward positions into July," said Darren Stetzel, commodity broker at INTL FCStone in Singapore.
* Weather in top grower Ivory Coast also continues to be closely watched with mid-crop prospects boosted by above- average rainfall in key cocoa regions last week.
* May New York cocoa fell $6, or 0.3 percent, to $2,231 per tonne.
COFFEE
* May arabica coffee rose 0.85 cent, or 0.9 percent, to 96.20 cents per lb, edging further away from a contract low of 92.60 cents set on Monday.
* Dealers said it now looked very likely that Brazil would harvest a large crop this year even though it is an off-year in its biennial crop cycle.
* Weakness in Brazil's real in February and so far in March has also helped to weigh on prices, improving returns in local currency terms in the world's top grower and encouraging producer selling.
* "The Brazil real alone will continue to dictate market direction for the foreseeable future, subject to any sudden moves by funds which is unlikely," Stetzel said.
* May robusta coffee rose $12, or 0.8 percent, to $1,522 per tonne.
* Uganda's coffee exports dropped 17 percent year-on-year in February, undercut by scant rains in some coffee-growing areas, the state-run regulator Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said.
SUGAR
* May raw sugar rose 0.08 cent, or 0.6 percent, to 12.67 cents per lb.
* A likely delay in the start of Brazil's centre-south cane harvest may catch some New York sugar futures players on the wrong foot, forcing those operators to cover positions, according to analysts and commodity traders.
* May white sugar was up $0.20, or 0.1 percent, at $331.80 per tonne.
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