LONDON: Robusta coffee futures on ICE were hovering just below a recent 10-year high on Thursday while raw sugar prices eased, weighed down partly by a firmer dollar and weaker crude oil.

Coffee

March robusta coffee fell a marginal 0.04% to $2,363 a tonne by 1115 GMT. The benchmark second position climbed to a 10-year high of $2,381 last week.

Dealers said supply chain issues had disrupted shipments from top robusta producer Vietnam this year with exports expected to show a drop of 2.7%.

"High shipping cost and a shortage of containers have hampered coffee shipments from Vietnam this year," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Dealers noted that January's premium to March had been widening as traders holding short positions in the front month opted to cover rather than tender coffee. It was trading around $122 a tonne on Thursday.

Only one lot, of Brazilian conillon coffee, had been tendered against the January contract as of Dec. 29.

March arabica coffee fell 0.7% to $2.2730 per lb.

Robusta coffee edges up on short-term supply tightness

Sugar

March raw sugar was 0.8% lower at 18.94 cents per lb.

Dealers said the market was weighed down partly by weakness in crude oil. Lower energy prices can lead to more use of cane to produce sugar rather than biofuel ethanol.

March white sugar fell 0.7% to $497.50 a tonne.

Cocoa

March London cocoa fell 0.3% to 1,694 pounds a tonne.

March New York cocoa was down 0.4% at $2,505 a tonne.