Credit: REUTERS/Emmanuel FoudrotRecasts, includes comments from brokers and closing prices
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Refined sugar prices on ICE exchange hit the highest levels in five years on Friday amid reports that India, the world's No. 2 sugar exporter, could cap exports in the current marketing year to guarantee local supplies.
Raw sugar also rose, the highest closing price since November.
SUGAR
* May white sugar LSUc1 rose $12.10, or 2.2%, at $562.70 a tonne, having hit its highest since early 2017 at $563.70
* India's potential export cap of 8 million tonnes for the year to end-September could result in a de facto ban for exports from May as dealers say mills have already contracted to export 7 million tonnes so far.
* Brokers said food security concerns amid the war in Ukraine are boosting sugar prices as they did with other commodities such as corn and wheat.
* May raw sugar SBc1 settled up 0.35 cents, or 1.8%, at 19.61 cents per lb, the highest closing price since Nov. 23.
* The contract also gained support from a strong Brazilian real BRL=, which hit its highest value against the U.S. dollar since March 2020.
* A strong real deters exporters in Brazil from selling dollar-priced sugar by lowering returns in local currency.
* "The sugar price in reais remained at the same level, with the currency offseting the rise in futures," said a broker.
COFFEE
* May arabica coffee KCc1 was stable at $2.2185 per lb.
* Dealers said the market is lacking direction after a recent selloff by funds cutting their net long position. The strong Brazilian real has also hurt farmer selling.
"Activity is slow, there is a lack of selling interest and that turns into a domino effect, where exporters also abstain from the selling side, due to difficulties to source," said a Brazil-based broker.
* May robusta coffee LRCc2 rose $12, or 0.6%, at $2,148 a tonne.
COCOA
* May London cocoa LCCc1 fell 16 pounds, or 0.9%, to 1,723 pounds per tonne, having hit a one-week high on Wednesday.
* Dealers said cocoa has an upside bias given producers have largely finished selling the current crop and speculative funds are mostly looking to build up long positions in an illiquid environment.
* May New York cocoa CCc1 fell $21, or 0.8%, to $2,562 a tonne.
(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Maytaal Angel; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Shailesh Kuber)
((marcelo.teixeira@tr.com; +1 332 220 8062; Reuters Messaging: marcelo.teixeira.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net - https://twitter.com/tx_marcelo))
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