Credit: REUTERS/LUC GNAGOMarch 23 (Reuters) - New York cocoa futures on ICE steadied on Thursday a day after hitting their highest level in more than two years while white sugar climbed to a fresh six-month peak.
COCOA
* May New York cocoa CCc1 was down 0.6% to $2,857 a tonne at 1304 GMT, a day after hitting the highest level for the front month since December 2020.
* Dealers said supplies are tightening, with the market heading towards a looming deficit this season, and traders worried about defaults in top producer Ivory Coast.
* Indicating supply tightness, May cocoa last traded at a premium of $51 to July CC-1=R.
* Dealers also said speculators have likely re-established long positions after a recent bout of liquidation.
* May London cocoa LCCc1 fell 1.2% to 2,120, under pressure from strength in sterling.
SUGAR
* May white sugar LSUc1 rose 0.1% to $604.40 a tonne after setting a six-month high of $608.10.
* Dealers said the fundamental picture remains more bullish than bearish with many unanswered questions on production from major producers India and Thailand.
* Looking ahead though, trader Czarnikow said it expects sugar output in top producer Brazil will 37.6 million tonnes this season, the second highest on record.
* May raw sugar SBc1 rose 0.1% to 21.16 cents per lb.
COFFEE
* May robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 0.3% to $2,119 a tonne, having hit a more than one month low on Monday.
* Coffee trading in top robusta producer Vietnam has been slow in the past weeks, hit by low stocks, traders said.
* May arabica coffee KCc1 fell 1.5% to $1.7535 per lb.
(Reporting by Maytaal Angel; editing by Jason Neely)
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