LONDON: London cocoa futures rose on Friday, rebounding from an earlier 7-1/2 month low, while raw sugar hit its weakest in five weeks and arabica slumped to a new 5-1/2 month low.
COCOA
March London cocoa was up 13 pounds or 0.9 percent at 1,404 pounds a tonne by 1551 GMT, rebounding from an earlier low of 1,377 pounds, the weakest for the second position since April 20.
This followed a run of six days of consecutive declines in the market.
Dealers said the market was underpinned by rising demand and an expected decline in production in the 2017/18 season which should lead to a smaller global surplus.
The world market will see a cocoa supply surplus of 88,450 tonnes in the current 2017-18 crop year, following a surplus of 347,600 tonnes last year, Connecticut-based brokerage JSG Commodities said on Thursday.
"The current crop looks set to be noticeably lower - in conjunction with reviving demand, this should significantly reduce the 2017/18 surplus and help the price to recover," Commerzbank said in a market note.
March New York cocoa was unchanged at $1,880 a tonne.
SUGAR
March raw sugar fell 0.19 cent or 1.3 percent to 14.12 cents per lb, after hitting 14.08 cents, its weakest since Oct. 27.
Dealers pointed to deteriorating technicals and further weakness in the Brazilian real, which encourages producer selling by improving returns in local currency terms.
Dealers were also awaiting fresh exchange data for indications of speculative activity.
"We continue to have little definitive insight to the 'real' attitude of the net spec community towards sugar," said Nick Penney, senior trader at Sucden Financial.
March white sugar was down $3.20, or 0.9 percent, at $368 a tonne.
COFFEE
March arabica coffee fell 0.75 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $1.2215 per lb after hitting a fresh 5-1/2 month low of $1.2190.
Dealers said the prospect of a larger crop in Brazil next year was helping keep the market on the defensive.
"Attention is already focused on the next Brazilian crop...It is likely to be much higher again, this being the high-yield year in the two-year crop cycle," Commerzbank said in a market note.
"This is likely to limit the upside potential for coffee prices," the bank added, also noting stocks levels in consuming countries were very high.
January robusta coffee was up $6, or 0.35 percent, at $1,736 a tonne.
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