LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE were lower on Thursday as the prospect of a rebound in production in India helped to counter any support from imports by the world's top consumer.
SUGAR
October raw sugar was down 0.19 cents, or 1.3 percent, at 14.10 cents per lb by 1431 GMT.
Dealers continued to keep a close watch on potential damage to crops and processing facilities from Hurricane Irma but added the overall supply outlook remained bearish with a global surplus widely anticipated in the 2017/18 season.
"We may well see some fund covering again on the close but overall the general sugar surplus market story continues to persist," said Tom Kujawa, co-head of the Softs Department at Sucden Financial.
Dealers also noted forecasts that production will rebound in India in 2017/18.
India has allowed imports of 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar at the country's southern ports at 25 percent import tax, the government said in a statement, as production fell below the consumption level in the 2016/17 marketing year ending on Sept. 30.
October white sugar fell $3.90, or 1.0 percent, to $376.70 a tonne.
COCOA
December London cocoa was down 2 pounds, or 0.1 percent, at 1,488 pounds a tonne with a stronger British pound helping to keep a lid on the market.
Huge crops in Ivory Coast and Ghana this year are also keeping the market on the defensive.
Ghana's cocoa output this season has exceeded a government target with cumulative purchases declared to industry regulator Cocobod reaching at least 940,000 tonnes by the end of August, two Cocobod sources said on Thursday.
December New York cocoa rose $3, or 0.2 percent, to $1,920 a tonne.
COFFEE
November robusta coffee was up $2, or 0.1 percent, at $1,947 a tonne.
Dealers said the market was consolidating after the recent slide with prices slipping to the weakest since May 25 in the previous session as speculators liquidated long positions amid fading expectations of a supply squeeze before the next Vietnamese crop.
Coffee markets in major Asian exporters were muted as London robusta prices fell to multi-month lows, even as Indonesian coffee prices reversed their downward trend.
December arabica coffee was up 1.70 cents or 1.3 percent at $1,2960 per lb.
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