Adds comment, updates prices
LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Arabica coffee futures on ICE were higher on Thursday, boosted partly by a strengthening in the currency of top producer Brazil, while sugar and cocoa prices also rose.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee KCc2 rose 1.7% to $2.1020 per lb by 1407 GMT, boosted partly by a strengthening in the currency of top producer Brazil.
* A stronger real BRL= deters farmers and exporters from selling dollar-denominated arabica coffee by lowering returns in local currency terms.
* Dealers noted the market was also keeping a close watch on the outlook for Brazilian production next year, an on-year in the country’s biennial crop cycle.
* Frost and drought may lead production to fall far below the last on-year crop in 2020.
* “There are estimates suggesting that as much as 12 million bags of coffee could be lost in Brazil next season due to a combination of frost and drought. However more recently, growing regions have seen above average rainfall. If this trend continues over the rainy season, it could help reduce some of the expected losses,” ING said in note.
* January robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 1.1% to $2,240 a tonne supported by harvest delays in top robusta producer Vietnam.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar SBc1 rose 0.7% to 19.73 cents per lb.
* India’s plans to blend 20% ethanol with petrol from April 2023 will help cut sugar export subsidies, Oil Secretary Tarun Kapoor said on Thursday.
* Dealers said there is eventually likely to be a shift towards using more cane to make ethanol in India that would curb sugar production, although little impact is anticipated in the short term.
* December white sugar LSUc1, which expires next Monday, rose 1.1% to $512.60 a tonne.
COCOA
* March New York cocoa CCc2 was up 0.3% at $2,521 a tonne.
* Dealers said a pick-up in demand should contribute to a more balanced market in the current 2021/22 season after a significant global surplus in 2020/21.
* March London cocoa LCCc2 rose 0.4% to 1,709 pounds a tonne.
(Reporting by Nigel Hunt, editing by Andrei Khalip)
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