LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE rose to the highest level in nearly four years on Friday, buoyed by tightening supplies, while arabica coffee climbed to a one-month peak.

SUGAR

March raw sugar rose by 0.4 cent, or 2.3%, to 17.91 cents per lb by 1202 GMT after peaking at 17.96 cents, the highest for the front month since March 2017.

Dealers said talk that Brazil's harvest may start a bit later than normal had added to concerns about tight supplies while there had also been delays to Indian exports driven partly by a shortage of containers and reduced availability from Thailand due to a poor crop this year.

The run-up in crude oil futures this month has also been supportive for sugar although energy prices have fallen back a bit towards the end of this week.

May white sugar rose by $8.80, or 1.9%, to $482 per tonne.

COFFEE

May arabica coffee rose by 0.05 cent, or 0.04%, to $1.2935 per lb after reaching a one-month peak of $1.2985.

Dealers said the market was supported partly by rising hopes for an economic recovery later this year, which could trigger a rebound in coffee consumption.

May robusta coffee was down $3, or 0.2%, at $1,377 a tonne.

COCOA

May London cocoa fell by 1 pound, or 0.06%, to 1,632 pounds a tonne after dipping to 1,630 pounds, its weakest in more than one month.

Dealers said supplies were ample with a global surplus widely forecast for the current 2020/21 season while price charts were also looking more bearish after the market's decline earlier this week.

May New York cocoa was unchanged at $2,391 a tonne.