LONDON: New York cocoa futures rose on Tuesday as a more subdued dollar and light buying helped prices steady after a sharp plunge the previous day, while raw sugar climbed on a lower-than-expected cane crush from top grower Brazil.
COCOA
December New York cocoa was up $24, or 1.2 percent, at $2,032 a tonne by 1349 GMT, partly supported by a softer dollar.
December London cocoa rose 13 pounds, or 0.9 percent, to 1,546 pounds.
Prices slumped 4 percent in the previous session as a stronger pound triggered a reversal from a 2-month high of 1,597 pounds.
Dealers said both New York and London were supported by some industry buying and profit-taking after the dramatic decline.
"From a technical perspective, the market was overbought," one dealer said. "But I think people are very slightly, cautiously bullish."
However, the sell-off and the weak close knocked the technical structure of the market and dampened momentum, dealers said, despite expectations for lower production in 2017/18 and a delayed start to the harvest.
"Last week, it looked like the beginning of a turnaround," the dealer said. "But now, given yesterday's performance, I wonder if people are doubting that."
SUGAR
March raw sugar rose 0.20 cent, or 1.4 percent, to 14.20 cents per lb, after hitting a session high of 14.23.
Brazil's center-south region crushed 40.309 million tonnes of cane and produced 2.848 million tonnes of sugar in the second half of September, compared to 3.126 million tonnes in the first half of the month.
This was lower than expected, with a S&P Global Platts survey of analysts having pegged the crush at 41.55 million tonnes, down 2.3 percent year on year.
The crush was partly dented by wet weather in recent weeks, although the much-needed rains are expected to benefit developing cane and boost the next crop.
"With the crop now 80 percent harvested, the lost days and the slight switch from sugar to ethanol are less important than the impact of good rains on the next crop," Agrilion Commodity Advisers said in a market update.
December white sugar was up $1.80, or 0.5 percent, at $373.50 a tonne.
COFFEE
December arabica coffee was up 0.40 cent, or 0.3 percent, at $1.3135 per lb, having earlier hit a two-week high of $1.3270.
November robusta coffee rose $8, or 0.4 percent, to $2,011 per tonne.
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