Cocoa heads near record as market frets over 4th straight deficit
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Cocoa prices rallied on Wednesday, heading towards April's record peak as the market continues to fear that dry weather in West Africa will result in a fourth consecutive deficit this season.
COCOA
* New York cocoa futures on ICE CCc1 rose 3.5% to $12,182 a ton, nearing April's record peak of $12,261.
* Dealers said the weather outlook in West Africa, albeit improved over last season, is a concern given how tight the market is after three seasons of deficit.
* They added investors were again taking on new long futures positions or bets on price gains.
* Farmers in most of top producer Ivory Coast said on Monday the lack of adequate rains and heat could weigh on the development of the October-to-March main crop.
* London cocoa LCCc1 rose 3.5% to 9,588 pounds per ton, nearing April's record peak of 10,265.
COFFEE
* Arabica coffee futures KCc2 rose 2.2% to $3.3150 per lb, still some way off last week's record high of $3.4835.
* "Significant discrepancies in estimates (of the 2025/26 Brazilian crop) are raising concerns about the availability of Brazilian coffee in 2025 and increasing volatility," said Rabobank in a report.
* Robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 0.6% to $5,200 a ton.
* Dealers said the harvest in top robusta producer Vietnam is now about 30% to 40% complete.
SUGAR
* Raw sugar SBc1 fell 0.5% to 19.74 cents per lb, having hit a three-month low of 19.58 cents.
* Weighing on sugar, the Brazilian real currency BRL= is near a record low against the dollar, leading mills in the world's top sugar producer to sell in order to boost their gains in local currency terms.
* The supply outlook has improved. Brazilian sugar production in late November was higher than expected, industry group UNICA showed.
* March white sugar LSUc1 fell 0.4% to $513 a metric ton.
Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi
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