Cocoa heads near record as market frets over 4th straight deficit
Updates prices, adds details
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 3.7% to $12,197 a ton at 1426 GMT, 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 3.8% to 9,621 pounds per ton, nearing April's record peak of 10,265.
COFFEE
* Arabica coffee futures KCc2 rose 1.5% to $3.2970 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.
* On the demand front, Colruyt COLR.BR has halted some of its orders from JDE Peet's JDEP.AS after the Dutch coffee company asked for further price hikes due to the global rise in coffee prices, the Belgian supermarket chain said.
* Robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 0.2% to $5,179 a ton.
* Dealers said the harvest in top robusta producer Vietnam is now about 30% to 40% complete.
SUGAR
* Raw sugar SBc1 fell 0.9% to 19.67 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 0.5% to $513 a metric ton.
Reporting by Maytaal Angel; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi
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