LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE slipped to a two-week low with the strong pace of exports from India keeping the market on the defensive while cocoa prices rose.

SUGAR

May raw sugar was down 0.1% at 19.72 cents per lb at 1501 GMT after dipping to a two-week low of 19.62 cents.

Dealers said an improving outlook for exports from India was weighing on the market while price charts were also becoming more bearish.

India’s exports were becoming “larger every time you look,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said.

A slight recovery in crude oil prices after the prior session’s steep decline helped to stabilise the sugar market.

August white sugar rose 0.1% to $538.50 a tonne.

COCOA

July New York cocoa rose 0.7% to $2,597 a tonne.

Dealers said the market was deriving support from indications that demand is continuing to pick up after a COVID-19 driven dip.

North American first-quarter cocoa grind data, due to be issued on Thursday, would provide a short-term focus after last week’s European first-quarter data showed a 4.4% rise year on year.

July London cocoa rose 1.1% to 1,787 pounds a tonne.

COFFEE

July robusta coffee rose 0.1% to $2,090 a tonne, edging away from the prior session’s six-week low of $2,058.

July arabica coffee fell 0.65% to $2.2025 per lb.