(Reuters) – London cocoa futures rebounded from an earlier 7-1/2 month low on Friday as the market finally found some support after a run of six consecutive daily declines while arabica coffee and raw sugar edged higher.
COCOA
* March London cocoa was up 19 pounds or 1.4 percent at 1,410 pounds a tonne at 1127 GMT, rebounding from an earlier low of 1,377 pounds, the weakest for the second position since April 20.
* Dealers said the market was underpinned by rising demand and an expected decline in production in the 2017/18 season which should lead to a smaller global surplus.
* The world market will see a cocoa supply surplus of 88,450 tonnes in the current 2017-18 crop year, following a surplus of 347,600 tonnes last year, said Connecticut-based brokerage JSG Commodities on Thursday.
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* “The current crop looks set to be noticeably lower – in conjunction with reviving demand, this should significantly reduce the 2017/18 surplus and help the price to recover,” Commerzbank said in a market note.
* March New York cocoa was up $32, or 1.7 percent, at $1,912 a tonne.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee rose 0.50 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $1.2340 per lb. The contract fell to a 5-1/2 month low of $1.2210 on Thursday.
* Dealers said the prospect of a larger crop in Brazil next year was helping keep the market on the defensive.
* “Attention is already focused on the next Brazilian crop…It is likely to be much higher again, this being the high-yield year in the two-year crop cycle,” Commerzbank said in a market note.
* “This is likely to limit the upside potential for coffee prices,” the bank added, also noting stocks levels in consuming countries were very high.
* Colombia plans to increase its annual coffee production by almost 29 percent to 18 million 60-kg bags, thanks to crop renovation and the replacement of coca crops with coffee beans in once conflict-ridden areas, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday.
* January robusta coffee was up $7, or 0.4 percent, at $1,737 a tonne.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar rose 0.01 cent or 0.1 percent to 14.32 cents per lb, edging away from the prior session’s five-week low of 14.19 cents.
* March white sugar was up $0.50, or 0.1 percent, at $371.70 a tonne.
