Raw sugar prices inch up as Brazilian output falls

NEW YORK/LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Wednesday, lifted by data indicating that Brazilian sugar production dropped in the first half of this month, while coffee and cocoa prices slipped.

SUGAR

* October raw sugar settled up 0.08 cent, or 0.7%, at 12.06 cents per lb, supported by constructive Brazilian data, dealers said.

* Sugar output from Brazil's center-south region slumped 19% in the first half of July, cane industry group Unica said. In addition, about 400,000 hectares of cane fields were affected by frosts earlier this month which may impact yields, Unica said.

* In the previous session, the monthly contract hit a contract low of 11.39 cents before rebounding, in part in anticipation of the Brazilian data.

* The market's close above 12 cents for the first time in over a week was psychologically significant, dealers said.

* Concerns about adverse weather in India, a top producer, are also underpinning the market, dealers said. Monsoon rains there were 35% below average in the week ending on Wednesday, the weather office said.

* India is maintaining the minimum cane buying price at 275 rupees ($3.99) per 100 kg for the next marketing season, the government said.

* World sugar prices are forecast to rise by the end of this year with a global deficit projected for the 2019/20 season, a Reuters survey of 13 analysts and traders showed.

* October white sugar settled up $2.90, or 0.9%, at $321.20 per tonne.

COCOA

* September New York cocoa settled down $12, or 0.5%, at $2,463 per tonne.

* Market chatter continues to be dominated by uncertainty as to how exactly top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana will implement a "living income differential" of $400 a tonne on all cocoa sales contracts for 2020/21.

* The farmgate price for Ivory Coast's upcoming cocoa main crop will rise to 800 CFA francs ($1.35) per kilo, a 6.6% increase on the previous season, two sources at the Coffee and Cocoa Council said.

* September London cocoa settled down 11 pounds, or 0.6%, at 1,842 pounds a tonne.

COFFEE

* September arabica coffee settled down 1.3 cent, or 1.3%, at $1.01 per lb, after dipping to a one-month low of $1.0055.

* Ample global supplies have come back into focus as the threat of a crop-damaging Brazilian frost retreats.

* Jollibee Foods, the Philippines' largest food service network operator, is buying US brand Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for $100 million as part of an expansion outside its home market.

* September robusta coffee settled down $9, or 0.7%, at $1,360 per tonne.