Updates with comments and closing prices
NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Raw sugar futures fell to a two-week low on Friday with forecast weekend rains see aiding cane crops in Centre-South Brazil while arabica coffee clawed back most of this week’s losses.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar SBc1 settled down 0.22 cent, or 1.2%, at 17.86 cents per lb after setting a two-week low of 18.09 cents.
* Dealers said rains forecast for the weekend in Center-South Brazil could help improve soil moisture levels and the outlook for this year’s cane crop.
* An improving outlook for production in India has also contributed to recent market weakness.
* Technical indicators have become more bearish after the market’s recent weak performance, adding to selling pressure.
* March white sugar LSUc1 fell $4.50, or 0.9%, at $495.20 a tonne.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee KCc1 closed up 3.85 cents, or 1.7%, at $2.359 per lb. The market had a small weekly loss of 0.65%.
* Dealers said the focus remains on the outlook for this year’s crop in Brazil and the extent to which last year’s frosts and drought could curb production.
* Trader Comexim expects Brazil to produce 63.2 million bags of coffee in the 2022/23 season, a 16.6% increase over the previous one, as trees show a relative recovery due to better crop care and good weather.L1N2U82RH
* March robusta coffee LRCc1 settled up $2, or 0.1%, at $2,193 a tonne.
COCOA
* March London cocoa LCCc1 rose 16 pounds, or 1.0%, to 1,696 pounds per tonne after dipping to a low of 1,677 pounds, the weakest level since Jan. 7.
* Dealers said the outlook for demand has become more bearish recently owing to a gloomier global economic outlook.
* Supplies also remain plentiful.
* Total reported cocoa stocks rose sharply during the 2020/21 season (October/September), partly driven by the availability of data from South-East Asia, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) Expert Working Group on Stocks (EWGS) estimated after a meeting on Thursday.
* March New York cocoa CCc1 rose $43, or 1.8%, to $2,494 a tonne.
(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Nigel Hunt Editing by David Goodman and Sandra Maler)
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