LONDON: Arabica coffee prices on ICE rallied on Thursday, extending their recovery from a recent three-week low on technical signals and a weaker dollar.
Sugar prices, meanwhile, fell for a fourth session and cocoa prices slid.
COFFEE
September arabica coffee rose 2.7 cents, or 2.7pc, to 100.60 cents per lb by 1309 GMT, having hit a three-week low on Monday.
A dealer said coffee has found support from a tightening in the July-September spread and a weaker dollar. He added, however, that sentiment remained bearish overall.
The dollar was on track for its biggest two-day drop this year after the Federal Reserve signalled it was ready to cut interest rates as early as next month.
A weak dollar makes dollar-priced commodities like coffee cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Coffee plunged 5.3pc last week amid renewed concerns about oversupply in top grower Brazil and a technical market structure that rewards sellers.
September robusta coffee rose $33, or 2.4pc, to $1,405 per tonne.
Coffee prices in Vietnam remained little changed on Thursday from a week ago with farmers unwilling to sell the remaining 5pc of their 2018/19 output at current prices.
SUGAR
July raw sugar fell 0.03 cents, or 0.2pc, to 12.47 cents per lb. Prices hit a 1-1/2 month high on Friday but have been retreating this week.
A dealer said substantial volumes of Thai sugar still need to be sold, adding that producers will be likely to have to lower their prices, which would weigh on the sweetener.
Sugar was supported in the first half of this month by dry weather in India, a top sugar grower, and surging corn prices .
Rising corn prices raise corn-based ethanol prices in the United States, tempting Brazilian mills to produce and export more cane-based ethanol, at the expense of sugar.
But in bearish news, a growing number of companies in Brazil, including Sao Martinho SA, are starting to produce ethanol from corn rather than cane.
Also, India's annual monsoon has hit some parts of Maharashtra, an official said, adding conditions are becoming favourable for rains to advance into southern India.
August white sugar was flat at $332.70 per tonne.
COCOA
September London cocoa fell 42 pounds, or 2.3pc, to 1,812 pounds per tonne as the market continued to consolidate.
The contract hit an 11-month high last Wednesday as top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana announced plans to set a floor price for cocoa.
Ghana's Cocobod will open its cocoa light crop purchases on Friday, maintaining the price it pays farmers at 7,600 cedis ($1,407) per tonne.
September New York cocoa fell $61, or 2.4pc, to $2,454 per tonne.
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