SOFTS-Cocoa holds just above 2-1/2 month lows, sugar slips​

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures on ICE were hovering just above the prior session's 2-1/2 month lows on Wednesday as the 2025/26 main crop season got underway in top grower Ivory Coast.

COCOA

London cocoa LCCc2 fell 0.4% to 4,728 pounds a metric ton by 1152 GMT, with the market hovering just above the prior session's 2-1/2 month low of 4,711 pounds.

Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) is expected to announce the new farmgate price for cocoa at the opening ceremony of the 2025/26 marketing campaign on Wednesday.

The main crop harvest in Ivory Coast is likely to see strong early arrivals, partly due to cocoa being held back to benefit from an expected higher farmgate price.

Dealers said the combination of a strong early flow of cocoa out of Ivory Coast and Ghana and weak demand could put further downward pressure on prices.

New York cocoa CCc2 was up 0.3% at $6,814 a ton, after setting a 2-1/2 month low of $6,731 on Tuesday.

SUGAR

Raw sugar SBc1 fell 2.2% to 16.23 cents per lb.

The October contract expired on Tuesday with a delivery seen at 1.52 million tons, one of the largest for the contract.

The bulk of the sugar was expected to come from Center-South Brazil.

Dealers were awaiting the release in the next few days of data on cane and sugar production in Center-South Brazil for the first half of September.

White sugar LSUc1 lost 2.1% to $458.60 a ton.

COFFEE

Arabica coffee KCc2 rose 0.3% to $3.6015 per lb.

Dealers said the weather in Brazil had been generally favourable recently, improving the outlook for the coffee crop in the world's top grower.

Robusta coffee LRCc2 was up 1.6% at $4,252 a ton.

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