SOFTS-Robusta coffee hits 15-year high, then pulls back; sugar down

Adds comments and closing prices

NEW YORK/LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) – Robusta coffee futures on ICE hit a 15-year high earlier in Tuesday’s session, before falling back nearly 3% as the market waited to see if the crop in Brazil would help ease current supply pressures.

COFFEE

* July robusta coffee LRCc2 settled $72, or 2.7%, at $2,557 a tonne, after hitting a 15-year high of $2,675.

* Traders said Robusta supplies remain very tight, particularly in Vietnam’s main producer, where little coffee is left from the previous harvest.

* They noted that Brazil’s new robusta coffee crop was slowly starting to emerge as the pace of harvests picked up in recent weeks during dry weather.

* July arabica coffee KCc1 fell 1.75 cents, or 0.9%, to $1.8745 a pound.

SUGAR

*July raw sugar SBc1 was 0.18 cents, or 0.7%, at 25.81 cents per pound.

* The market remained supported by fears that a widely predicted El Nino weather event could lead to drier weather in Asia in the coming months, affecting production in major producing countries such as India and Thailand.

* But dealers said the market had lost some momentum as the crop in Brazil appeared to have progressed very well in generally dry weather in May.

* Industry group Unica is expected to release data on production in the country in the first half of May on Thursday.

* August white sugar LSUc1 rose $0.50, or 0.1%, to $713.40 per tonne.

COCOA

* Cocoa July London LCCc1 was 14 pounds, or 0.6%, at 2,358 pounds per tonne.

* Dealers said the market was supported by tighter supply, with July trading at a premium of around 45 pounds to September. LCC-1=R

* They also noted that investment funds continue to have a strong appetite for long positions and that a significant price pullback seems unlikely any time soon.

* July Cocoa New York CCc1 was $7, or 0.2%, at $3,016 a tonne.

(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira and Nigel Hunt Editing by Ed Osmond, David Goodman and Shilpi Majumdar)

((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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