Raw sugar climbs higher, cocoa eases as technicals falter

SUGAR

May raw sugar was up 0.15 cents, or 0.85 percent, at 17.75 cents a lb at 1207 GMT.

A strong close the previous session lent support, helping prices to extend the recovery from the 10-month lows touched earlier in the week.

Dealers said that technical support was fragile and prices could test lows again if they struggle to hold above key resistance levels.

"Yesterday's activity has failed to change the outlook in the near term, with the indicators still heavily in favour of the downside," Sucden Financial said in a note.

Gains were also limited by bearish fundamentals, with favourable weather in Brazil adding to expectations for a surplus in the 2017/2018 season.

India is also likely to emerge unscathed from the El Nino weather phenomenon, which is now expected to arrive in the latter part of the crop-nourishing monsoon season, the director general of the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.

May white sugar rose $2.80, or 0.56 percent, to $501.60 a tonne.

INTL FCStone said the market found some reassurance in European Commission figures showing that the proportion of export licences it granted to applicants under its second tranche this month was in line with previous levels.

"There is also now a possibility more cargoes and bigger volumes will leave Europe in the coming weeks," INTL FCStone's Darren Stetzel said, noting that April and early May is a key window for EU exporters because Brazilian cane sugar is still scarce.

COCOA

May New York fell $7, or 0.32 percent, to $2,169 a tonne as waning technical support pulled prices further away from two-month highs touched this week.

May London was down 6 pounds, or 0.34 percent, at 1,744 pounds a tonne.

Both markets rallied earlier in the week on a wave of short-covering after prices had hit multi-year lows.

Dealers said the market is now watching whether futures hold above resistance levels, with a strong close needed to pave the way for gains.

The upside, however, is seen as limited because of plentiful supplies, with a large global surplus expected in the current season.

COFFEE

May arabica dropped 0.65 cents, or 0.45 percent, to$1.4225 per lb.

May robusta fell $3, or 0.14 percent, to $2,160 a tonne.