LONDON: Raw sugar futures were slightly lower on Thursday, weakened by softer energy prices, while robusta cofee slipped further from a 4-1/2 year peak set earlier this week.

SUGAR

March raw sugar fell 0.5% to 19.60 cents per lb by 1403 GMT. Dealers said weaker energy prices contributed to the modest decline. The market continued to derive support from a diminished outlook for this year's sugar production in Centre-South Brazil, although recent rains appear to have improved the outlook for next year's cane crop.

India is likely to produce about 30.5 million tonnes of sugar in the season that began on Oct. 1, down 1.6% from a previous industry estimate, a leading producers' body said on Thursday. December white sugar fell 0.7% to $514.90 a tonne.

COFFEE

January robusta coffee fell 0.8% to $2,180 a tonne as the market extended its retreat from a 4-1/2 year peak of $2,278 set on Tuesday. Dealers said the market remained underpinned by high freight costs and limited container shipping availability ahead of the Vietnam harvest, which is due to start next month.

Traders in Vietnam said on Thursday that robusta prices for the coming crop season would be much higher than the previous one because of higher production costs and freight rates. December arabica coffee rose 0.2% to $2.0170 per lb.

COCOA

March London cocoa eased by 0.2% to 1,754 pounds a tonne. Dealers said the prospect of a large crop this year in top producer Ivory Coast was keeping the market on the defensive, though there are signs of a pick-up in demand. Hershey Co raised its annual net sales and adjusted earnings forecast on Thursday, helped by strong demand for its products, such as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and KitKat chocolates, for the Halloween season.