ICE Cocoa Eases; Arabica Coffee, Raw Sugar Firm in Thin Trade

  NEW YORK - ICE cocoa futures touched a one-week low on Thursday, after prices reached a 27-month

high in the previous session. Arabica-coffee and raw-sugar futures firmed in quiet, post-Christmas

trade with London soft-commodity markets closed for the Boxing Day holiday.

  Cocoa for delivery in March on ICE Futures U.S. hit as low as $2,770 a ton in intraday trade. The

month was down 1% at $2,791 a ton mid-session. Prices for the key chocolate ingredient settled at

the highest level since September 2011 on projections the global cocoa supply will fall short of

demand for the second consecutive season.

  Earlier this month, the International Cocoa Organization said demand for cocoa exceeded supplies

by 160,000 metric tons in the crop year that ended Sept. 30, more than triple its previous estimate

of 52,000 tons. The London-based body has forecast demand to outpace supplies by 70,000 tons in the

season started Oct. 1.

  Raw sugar for March was up 0.1% at 16.23 cents a pound. March-delivery arabica coffee was up 1.4%

in light volume at $1.1630 a pound. The white-sugar, robusta-coffee and cocoa markets on NYSE Liffe

were closed.

  ICE Cotton for March delivery was down 0.2% at 83.01 cents a pound. Futures of orange-juice

concentrate for March were up 0.9% at $1.4025 a pound.