Raw sugar prices rebound, arabica also advances

LONDON: Raw sugar futures rose on Thursday as the market regained some ground after a prolonged slide, while arabica coffee also pulled away from a recent 13-year low.

SUGAR

* July raw sugar rose 0.18 cents, or 1.55 percent, to 11.83 cents per lb by 1409 GMT.

* Dealers said the market had finally found some support after a recent decline that took the contract to a low of 11.64 cents on Wednesday, its weakest since October 2018.

* "We see the market as oversold and ripe for a correction to at least re-establish a 12/12.50 range in the short term," said Sucden Financial senior trader Nick Penney.

* Rising stocks in India remained a key bearish influence while nearby futures positions were trading at large discounts to further forward contracts, providing an incentive for holding excess global supplies.

* "Beyond the negative impact of higher production in India, the market has also been penalised by the fall of crude oil caused by renewed trade tensions between the US and China," analyst Agritel said in a report on Thursday.

* Oil prices steadied on Thursday as the escalating trade battle between the United States and China countered a surprise decline in US crude inventories.

* Dealers said sugar supplies could start to tighten later this year, with many expecting the market to swing into deficit in the 2019/20 season.

* ICE August white sugar was up $1.80, or 0.6 percent, at $323.50 a tonne.

COFFEE

* July arabica coffee rose by 1.10 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 89.65 cents per lb, pulling away from a 13-year low of 87.60 cents set on Tuesday.

* Dealers said fund selling had at least temporarily dried up, allowing the market to recover some ground.

* They noted depressed prices also threatened to curtail production in several countries, including Colombia.

* Colombia has lost 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of coffee planting area over the past 18 months as farmers leave the industry due to low prices, the head of the coffee federation said on Wednesday, warning of a "humanitarian crisis".

* July robusta coffee rose $32, or 2.5 percent, to $1,322 a tonne as the market regained some ground after the prior session's fall to a nine-year low of $1,267.

* Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, exported 143,296 tonnes, or 2.39 million 60kg bags, of coffee in April, down 16.7 percent from March, customs data showed on Thursday.

COCOA

* July New York cocoa rose $27, or 1.2 percent, to $2,332 a tonne, moving back towards the middle of this month's range of $2,279 to $2,400.

* Dealers said the market remained reasonably balanced, with both production and demand seen rising in the 2018/19 season.

* July London cocoa was down 1 pound, or 0.1 percent, at 1,718 pounds a tonne.