New York cocoa rose to a 9-1/2 month high on Thursday before this week's run-up in prices temporarily stalled, while raw sugar climbed to its highest level in more than three months. March New York cocoa was down $13, or 0.6 percent, at $2,175 a tonne by 1456 GMT, having peaked earlier at $2,198, the highest for the second position since late January.
Dealers said the rise in prices this week had been driven partly by concerns about crop problems in top grower Ivory Coast that could lead to a significant fall in production in the 2017/18 season (October/September). Cocoa output in Ivory Coast is expected to fall by nearly 12 percent by the end of the year for the current growing season because of diseases, exporters said this week.
"Excessive rainfall is to blame, as it has caused the spread of crop diseases like black pod and brown rot. There is no sign of any improvement in the next quarter," Commerzbank said in a market note. December London cocoa was down 2 pounds, or 0.1 percent, at 1,627 pounds a tonne.
March raw sugar was up 0.04 cents, or 0.3 percent, at 14.88 cents per lb, the highest price for the front month since early August. Dealers said the market was supported by rising crude oil prices, which could reinforce a shift in Brazil towards using more cane to produce ethanol rather than sugar.
A survey of analysts by S&P Global Platts saw a CS Brazil cane crush of 29.68 million tonnes, down 8.4 percent from the prior two weeks. March white sugar rose by $1.50, or 0.4 percent, to $389.60 a tonne. January robusta coffee was up $22, or 1.2 percent, at $1,832 a tonne, pulling away from Wednesday's 14-month low of $1,799. Dealers said the market's failure to breach support around $1,800 had triggered short-covering. The second month rebounded from a low of $1,800 on Tuesday and $1,799 on Wednesday. December arabica coffee rose by 1.60 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $1.2735 per lb.
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