LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE turned higher on Wednesday, rebounding off a six-week low, while raw sugar was steady and cocoa prices eased.
COFFEE
* September arabica coffee was up 0.50 cents, or 0.5%, at $1.00 per lb at 1330 GMT after falling to a low of 98.40 cents, the weakest level for the contract since June 19.
* Dealers said they were continuing to keep a close watch on forecasts for Brazil coffee areas with the potential for frosts to damage crops at this time of year.
* They noted temperatures were expected to drop in some areas over the coming weekend but there did not appear to be a major threat to crops.
* A frost scare in early July sent arabica prices to 2019 highs but gains were not sustained as crop damage appeared minimal, dealers said.
* Dealers said supplies remained ample but low prices may be beginning to curb washed arabica production while 2019/20 was an off-year in Brazil's biennial crop cycle.
* "The long bear market is drawing to an end. We see prices over the medium term returning to a level where marginal washed arabica producers can cover costs of production," broker Marex Spectron said in a report.
* Marex Spectron put costs for marginal washed arabica producers at between 115 and 120 cents per lb, based on the second month of the arabica futures market.
* September robusta coffee was down $11, or 0.8%, at $1,343 a tonne.
SUGAR
* October raw sugar fell a marginal 0.01 cents, or 0.1%, to 12.14 cents per lb.
* Dealers said the market was underpinned by further strength in crude oil prices.
* Dealers said the strength of energy markets should ensure that mills in Centre-South Brazil seek to use as much cane as possible to make ethanol rather than sugar.
* October white sugar was unchanged at $323 a tonne.
COCOA
* September New York cocoa was down $2, or 0.1%, at $2,377 a tonne.
* Dealers said an improving outlook for the main crop in top grower Ivory Coast was keeping a lid on the market.
* September London cocoa fell 6 pounds, or 0.3%, to 1,841 pounds a tonne.
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