LONDON: Raw sugar futures rose on Friday, boosted by a rebound in global equity and energy markets, while London cocoa prices fell on a stronger pound and selling driven by technical factors.
SUGAR * March raw sugar was up 0.22 cents, or 1.9 percent, at 11.91 cents per lb at 1255 GMT, rebounding from the previous session's three-month low of 11.69 cents.
* Dealers said prices were boosted by short-covering, with the market technically oversold after the recent decline, while a recovery in global equities was also supportive.
* World stock markets rallied on Friday after Beijing announced a new round of trade talks with Washington, though recession fears still had markets betting the next move in US interest rates might be down.
* March white sugar was up $5.60, or 1.7 percent, at $329.80 a tonne.
COCOA
* May London cocoa was down 37 pounds, or 2.1 percent, at 1,747 pounds a tonne, retreating from the previous session's 5-1/2 month high of 1,795 pounds.
* Dealers said buying appetite had waned as prices approached 1,800 pounds and the market could be set for a further fall in the short term.
* "A close below 1,760 (pounds a tonne) may set the scene for further losses back to 1,735," Sucden Financial technical analyst Geordie Wilkes said in a market note.
* A stronger pound also weighed on London prices.
* March New York cocoa was down $39, or 1.6 percent, at $2,361 a tonne.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee was up 0.6 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $1.0275 per lb.
* Dealers said a strengthening in Brazil's real currency this week had helped to support arabica prices.
* A stronger real discourages producer selling by reducing local returns on dollar-traded commodities such as coffee.
* March robusta coffee rose $3, or 0.2 percent, to$1,559 a tonne.
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