Arabica coffee prices fall back, sugar also down

(Adds background, updates prices)

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Arabica coffee futures on ICE were lower on Friday, erasing most of the previous session’s gains, while sugar and New York cocoa prices also fell.

* Arabica coffee futures on ICE fell 1.6% to $3.17 per lb by 1428 GMT, having risen 2.3% on Thursday.

* Dealers said recent weakness in Brazil’s real had boosted prices in local currency terms in the world’s top exporter. The gains to record levels have prompted producer sales.

* Robusta coffee fell 0.3% to $5,042 a ton, with the focus still on delays to the Vietnam harvest because of wet weather that could also lead to quality issues in the world’s top robusta producer.

* Raw sugar lost 0.2% to 19.69 cents per lb having risen 2.4% on Thursday.

* Dealers said cane in Centre-South Brazil appeared to have received plenty of rain during the past couple of months, improving the outlook for the 2025/26 crop.

* They noted, however, a decline in sugar output in India meant it was unlikely the world’s second-largest producer would export the sweetener this year.

* March white sugar fell 0.2% to $512.20 a metric ton.

* New York cocoa futures on ICE fell 0.45% to $11,087 a ton.

* Dealers said that dry weather remained a concern in top grower Ivory Coast and could lead to reduced production and quality issues during the next couple of months.

* London cocoa rose 0.2% to 8,995 pounds a ton with prices underpinned by the recent weakness of the pound against the dollar. (Reporting by Nigel Hunt Editing by David Goodman and Elaine Hardcastle)