Raw sugar edges higher, NY cocoa hits two-month high

Raw sugar futures were slightly higher on Friday and on track for a second successive weekly gain.

March raw sugar was up 0.05 cents, or 0.4pc, at 12.67 cents per lb by 1333 GMT.

December white sugar was up $1, or 0.3pc, at $340.80 a tonne, edging up towards a six-month high of $342 set on Thursday.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar was up 0.05 cents, or 0.4%, at 12.67 cents per lb by 1333 GMT. The contract rose to a peak of 12.72 cents on Thursday, the highest for the benchmark second position since Aug. 16.

* The March contract was on track for a weekly gain of 5pc.

* Dealers said the expiry of the October contract on Monday was providing a short-term focus, with a sharp decline in the open interest during the past few days leading most to expect that the amount of sugar delivered is likely to be modest.

* The latest open-interest data, as of Sept. 26, showed a daily decline of more than 50% to 18,466 lots, equating to 923,300 tonnes of sugar.

* The market remains underpinned by the prospect of a global deficit for the 2019/20 season, though any significant rise in prices could spark large exports from India.

* "Analysts' consensus is that India will export 3-4 million tonnes in season 2019. That view though is price-dependent. At the right price, India probably still has capacity to export more," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said in a market note.

* December white sugar was up $1, or 0.3%, at $340.80 a tonne, edging up towards a six-month high of $342 set on Thursday.

COCOA

* December New York cocoa was down $6, or 0.2%, at $2,499 after touching a peak of $2,514, its highest since July 25.

* Dealers said that short-covering by speculators had helped to fuel the recent run-up. CFTC data to be issued later on Friday is expected to show a third consecutive weekly decline in the speculative net short position.

* The 2019/20 Ivory Coast main crop season starts on Tuesday, with farmgate prices expected to rise to 825 CFA francs from 750 francs.

* Cocoa buyers have been storing large quantities of cocoa beans in the bush for the past six weeks as they wait for a higher farmgate price, raising fears over bean quality, exporters and buyers said on Thursday.

* March London cocoa was up 1 pound, or 0.05%, at 1,886 pounds a tonne, underpinned by weak sterling.

COFFEE

* December arabica coffee rose 0.35 cents, or 0.35%, to $1.0120 per lb.

* November robusta coffee was up $3, or 0.2%, at $1,317 a tonne.