Arabica coffee prices weaken, raw sugar rises

LONDON: Arabica coffee futures on ICE fell on Wednesday as the threat posed to crops in Brazil from a forecast cold snap later this week appeared to recede slightly, while sugar prices rose.

COFFEE

September arabica coffee fell by 1.2 cents, or 0.6%, to $2.0055 per lb by 1405 GMT.

The front month had risen to a peak of $2.1520 on Monday, the highest level in nearly seven years, as last week's strong frosts in top producer Brazil dented the outlook for next year's crop in the world's top producer.

Dealers were also keeping a close watch on the weather outlook for later this week while noting some recent forecasts were not quite as cold as previous ones.

Arabica coffee steadies after hitting near 7 year high on Brazil frost fears

September robusta coffee rose by $8, or 0.4%, to $1,935 a tonne.

SUGAR

October raw sugar rose by 0.17 cent, or 0.9%, to 18.52 cents per lb.

Dealers were also monitoring the weather outlook in Brazil with the cold snap later this week likely to hit sugar cane producing areas.

"The market remains focussed on cold and frosts later this week in Brazil," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said in a note, adding producers and traders had good reason to be wary of selling.

Brazil's food supply and statistics agency Conab said on Wednesday that recent cold weather killed sugarcane plants in parts of the Centre-South region, exacerbating losses already caused by water stress.

October white sugar rose by $3.70, or 0.8%, to $458.40 a tonne.

NY cocoa may keep rising into $2,351-$2,378 range

COCOA

December London cocoa rose by 8 pounds, or 0.5%, to 1,694 pounds per tonne.

December New York cocoa rose by $1, or 0.04%, to $2,439 a tonne.