Recasts, includes closing prices and comments
NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) – London cocoa futures on ICE hit a six-week low on Wednesday, dragged by ongoing worries over surplus supplies, while sugar recovered amid improved sentiment in wider financial markets. MKTS/GLOBFRX/
COCOA
* March London cocoa LCCc2 settled down 31 pounds, or 1.7%, to 1,760 pounds per tonne, hitting a six-week low at 1,756 pounds.
* Dealers said the British pound continues to be relatively firm, weighing on the market, while in terms of the weather, the outlook for the current crop remains good.
* A rebound in demand in the current 2021/22 season may not be enough to prevent another global surplus, with only a small fall in production expected from 2020/21’s record level.
* December New York cocoa CCc1 fell $54, or 2.1%, to $2,505 a tonne, having touched a two-month low of $2,499.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar SBc1 settled up 0.1 cent, or 0.5%, at 18.97 cents per lb, having hit its weakest since late September on Tuesday at 18.82 cents.
* Dealers said sugar maintains a bearish bias short term.
* They cited late rains in key producers India and Thailand, much-needed showers in top producer Brazil and a weak Brazilian real BRL= that encourages the selling of dollar-priced sugar by raising returns in local currency terms.
* December white sugar LSUc1rose $1.70, or 0.3%, to $502.20 a tonne.
COFFEE
* December arabica coffee KCc1settled up 1.3 cent, or 0.6%, at $2.0555 per lb.
* Dealers said the market seems to be consolidating around $2 per pound after the sharp gains last week.
* Nestle posted a forecast-beating third quarter on Wednesday, saying strong coffee sales helped boost overall revenue. The world’s largest food group said its Starbucks-branded products posted a 15.5% growth in the first nine months.
* January robusta coffee LRCc2gained $11, or 0.5%, at $2,131 a tonne.
(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Maytaal Angel; Editing by David Evans and Jan Harvey)
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