LONDON: Cocoa futures on ICE rose on Thursday, with New York hitting a two-month high, helped by a weaker dollar, while arabica coffee rose, having hit its highest in more than a year on Wednesday.

COCOA

May New York cocoa rose 0.9% to $2,577 a tonne at 1138 GMT, having hit its highest since mid-December.

May London cocoa rose 0.7% to 1,850 pounds per tonne, helped by a pause in the recent rally seen in sterling.

Dealers said cocoa remains resolutely range-bound and will probably retrace from the current peaks.

The chocolate ingredient has underperformed other commodities this year, held back by a large surplus this season, but underpinned by hopes for a global economic recovery.

JB Foods said significant volatility in cocoa bean prices may affect its processing margins and the profitability of the group for 2021.

COFFEE

May arabica coffee rose 1.1% at $1.3880 per lb, after peaking at a more than one year high of $1.3960 on Wednesday.

Coffee was buoyed by drier-than-normal weather in Brazil, which has dented the outlook for the upcoming crop, a shortage of global shipping containers and by hopes for an economic recovery.

May robusta coffee edged up 0.1% to $1,464 a tonne, after hitting its highest in more than a year on Wednesday.

Coffee prices in top robusta producer Vietnam edged up on upbeat prices and limited supplies as farmers refrained from selling on hopes that prices could rise further, traders said.

SUGAR

May raw sugar was little changed at 18.13 cents per lb, having hit a near four-year peak of 17.52 cents set on Tuesday.

Dealers noted the March contract remained volatile ahead of its expiry on Friday, with its premium to May falling to 1.00 cent on Wednesday from a peak of 1.50 cents in the prior session.

Britain is set to introduce E10 gasoline, a motor fuel blended with 10% renewable fuels, by September this year. Current British gasoline blends contain no more than 5% ethanol (E5). Bioethanol is made from materials including sugar.

May white sugar was flat at $481.10 per tonne.