LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE were marginally lower on Thursday with the market consolidating just above the prior session's three-year low while New York cocoa turned higher after setting a fresh 5-1/2 month low.
SUGAR
October raw sugar was down 0.01 cent, or 0.1 percent, at 10.47 cents per lb at 1132 GMT, hovering just above the prior session's three-year low of 10.39 cents.
Dealers noted the front month's discount to March was holding around 0.80 cents after narrowing in late trade on Wednesday from around 0.95 cents.
There was talk the spread had been bought by a major refiner, potentially due to sentiment that surplus supplies in India may not be exported in the near future.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said in a daily note that when trader and refiners start to buy the spread it should help the market to stabilise.
"Looking at last night's action uncritically one might think that they had. We are sceptical though because the late jump in New York October had a flimsy look about it," he said.
October white sugar was down $0.60, or 0.2 percent, to $313.90 a tonne after dipping to a three-month low of $312.90.
COCOA
September New York cocoa was up $4, or 0.2 percent, at $2,074 a tonne after setting a fresh 5-1/2 month low of $2,053 in early trade.
Fund long liquidation has been helping to drive down prices recently although dealers said the market was underpinned by a growing risk of an El Nino weather event which can cause dryness in West Africa.
Cocoa prices will extend gains to end the year up about 20 percent from end-2017 as global supply shifts to a deficit, according to a Reuters survey of 11 traders and analysts released on Wednesday.
December London cocoa rose 6 pounds, or 0.4 percent, to 1,589 pounds a tonne.
COFFEE
September arabica coffee fell 0.90 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $1.0715 per lb.
September robusta coffee fell $11, or 0.7 percent, to $1,639 a tonne.
Vietnam's coffee exports are seen dipping in August from a month earlier due to weak demand, while the peak harvest season is underway in Indonesia, traders said on Thursday.
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