Raw sugar hovers near one-month low, London cocoa edges up

• Technically, prices of raw sugar remain locked inside a downtrend channel and in a context of relatively low volatility.
• Sterling slipped further off recent highs around $1.30 on Wednesday after Britain's parliament approved a Brexit withdrawal deal.

LONDON: Raw sugar futures were drifting down towards the prior session's one-month low on Wednesday, while London cocoa regained some ground buoyed by a weaker pound.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar was down 0.03 cents, or 0.25%. at 12.15 cents per lb at 1120 GMT, hovering just above the prior session's one-month low of 12.10 cents.

* Dealers said producer selling had been keeping the market on the defensive along with sluggish demand linked to slower economic growth and an expected rebound in production in India during the 2020/21 season.

* There also appears to be a more bearish outlook on price charts, they added.

* "Technically, prices of raw sugar remain locked inside a downtrend channel and in a context of relatively low volatility," analyst Agritel said in a market note.

* December white sugar rose $1.50, or 0.45%, to $337.30 a tonne.

* A judge with the US Court of International Trade has struck down a sugar trade pact with Mexico renegotiated in 2017 by the Trump Administration, saying the decision to amend a previous deal was unlawful.

COCOA

* March London cocoa was up 7 pounds, or 0.4%, at 1,841 pounds a tonne, edging away from the prior session's one-month low of 1,824 pounds.

* Dealers said a weaker pound was providing some support for prices in London.

* Sterling slipped further off recent highs around $1.30 on Wednesday after Britain's parliament approved a Brexit withdrawal deal but rejected the tight timetable to legislate on the agreement before a Oct. 31 deadline.

* December New York cocoa fell $4, or 0.2%, to $2,444 a tonne.

COFFEE

* December arabica coffee fell 1.05 cents, or 1.1%, to 97.85 cents per lb, giving up some of the prior session's steep gains in continued choppy conditions.

* January robusta coffee was down $2, or 0.2%, at $1,246 a tonne.

* Uganda forecasts its coffee exports in the 2019-2020 crop year will be about 16% higher than the previous period, boosted by favourable weather and expanding acreage as new trees mature, an official said on Wednesday.