LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Wednesday, buoyed by a supportive macroeconomic backdrop and nearby supply tightness.

Cocoa and coffee were mixed.

SUGAR

March raw sugar rose 0.9% to 16.58 cents per lb at 1422 GMT.

Dealers said nearby supplies were tightening with, most recently, downgrades to the production outlook in India and Thailand.

Vietnam plans to impose anti-dumping duties on raw sugar that originates in Thailand, claiming soaring imports are undermining its domestic sugar industry.

March white sugar, which expires on Friday, rose 0.4% to $477.20 per tonne. It hit a peak of $479.70 on Monday, its highest since April 2017.

Dealers said a delivery of around 400,000 tonnes of white sugar was expected against the March contract as buyers head to the exchange to source spare supply.

COCOA

May New York cocoa rose 1.2% to $2,458 a tonne.

Ivory Coast has reduced a quality premium that cocoa exporters pay for the mid-crop harvest by 320 pounds ($443) per tonne to turn it into a discount, in an effort to revive weak sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to eight sources.

March London cocoa slipped 0.2% to 1,750 pounds per tonne.

COFFEE

May arabica coffee fell 0.6% to $1.2420 per lb, held back by the weakness in the currency of top arabica producer Brazil

May robusta coffee rose 0.7% to $1,374 a tonne, having earlier hit its highest since early January.