LONDON: White sugar futures on ICE hit their highest level in 4-1/2 years on Thursday on signs demand might be picking up, while raw sugar also rose as oil prices held onto their gains.

Sugar

December white sugar rose 0.7% to %518 a tonne at 1122 GMT, having hit the highest since March 2017 at $519.40.

October white sugar expired on Wednesday up 3.3%, with 124,800 tonnes set to be delivered against the expiring contract and just one trader cited as the receiver of the large delivery.

"White sugar will be the first sugar contract to feel an uptick in demand. That will be followed at a later time by raw sugar," said a dealer.

"A change in demand sentiment while supply could be cut back further is constructive for price," he added, citing ongoing concerns over supply from top producer Brazil, for both this season and next.

October raw sugar rose 0.4% to 19.59 cents per lb.

Raw sugar prices rise as commodity markets climb

Coffee

December arabica coffee fell 0.9% to $1.8570 per lb.

Green coffee stocks in the Unites States rose slightly to 6.1 million bags at the end of August.

"It's a modest increase but I would take (it) as bearish the market," said a dealer.

November robusta coffee slipped 0.1% to $2,080 a tonne.

Weak demand and low inventories at the end of the harvest season in top robusta producers Vietnam and Indonesia weighed on local prices this week, traders said..

Cocoa

December New York cocoa was flat at $2,662 a tonne.

December London cocoa was flat at 1,809 pounds per tonne.

Dealers said sentiment is bullish given an expected deficit of around 150,000 for the upcoming 2021/22 crop, improved demand, good pre-sales of the crop and high freight rates.