SOFTS Raw sugar extends losing streak, robusta hits 3-month low

LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Raw sugar futures on ICE slid to a two-week low on Monday and were on track to fall for an eighth consecutive session, while robusta coffee prices slumped to a three-month low.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar fell 0.55% to 18.10 cents per lb by 1331 GMT after setting a two-week low of 17.96 cents.

* Dealers noted the market’s recent weak performance had created a bearish technical outlook.

* Heavy rains in top sugar exporter Brazil over the weekend also improved the outlook for cane production. read more

* An improving outlook for production in India has helped to weigh on prices.

* India is likely to produce 31.45 million tonnes of sugar in 2021/22 marketing year, nearly 3.1% more than the previous estimate, as output is set to jump in the key película del Oeste state of Maharashtra, a leading trade body said on Monday.

* March white sugar fell 0.6% to $492.30 a tonne.

COFFEE

* March robusta coffee fell 1.3% to $2,164 a tonne after dipping to a three-month low of $2,161.

* Dealers noted a pick-up in the pace of exports from top robusta producer Vietnam had eased concerns about short-term supply tightness and helped to put the market on the defensive.

* March arabica coffee was down 0.7% at $2.3415 per lb, erasing some of the prior session’s gains.

COCOA

* March London cocoa rose 0.2% to 1,699 pounds a tonne.

* Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast had reached 1.340 million tonnes by Jan. 30 since the start of the season on Oct. 1, exporters estimated on Monday, up 1.5% from 1.320 million tonnes during the same period last season.

* March New York cocoa rose 0.5% to $2,507 a tonne.

Reporting by Nigel Hunt;
Editing by Bernadette Baum

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