OREANDA-NEWS. March 24, 2015. Raw sugar futures edged up from last week's six-year low on Monday, boosted partly by a weaker dollar while ample supplies kept a lid on the market.

Arabica coffee futures declined, with the recent run-up stalling as the market waited for more clarity about the outlook for Brazil's 2015/16 crop. Cocoa futures also fell.

May raw sugar was up 0.10 cent, or 0.8 percent, at 12.78 cents a lb at 1419 GMT. The front month slumped to a six-year low of 12.39 cents on Friday.

Dealers said the sugar market was keeping a close watch on the prospects for the cane crop in Brazil's centre-south region, with crushing set to begin in April. A slight drop in sugar production is anticipated.

"Though adequate inventories should limit upside in the near term, increased concerns over Brazil's 15/16 production should help put a floor under sugar prices," Morgan Stanley said in a research note.

May white sugar on ICE rose \\$1.20 or 0.3 percent to \\$367.70 per tonne.

Arabica coffee futures were lower, with May down 1.10 cents or 0.8 percent at \\$1.4225 per lb.

Dealers said the recent rally, which took prices from a low of \\$1.2875 on March 13 to a peak of \\$1.4675 on March 19, appeared to have at least temporarily run out of steam.

They noted much could hinge on the size of Brazil's 2015/16 crop, forecasts for which are expected to start narrowing in the next few weeks.

"There is so much confusion about production numbers at the moment," said Andrea Thompson, an analyst at CoffeeNetwork, part of INTL FC Stone.

Thompson said she was forecasting Brazil's crop at 40 million 60-kg bags, adding the size of the crop would determine whether there was a significant global deficit for the season or possibly even a small surplus.

May robusta coffee futures were up \\$4 or 0.2 percent at \\$1,824 a tonne.

Dealers said the robusta market was underpinned by concerns about dry weather in Vietnam and talk that Brazil's conillon (robusta) crop may be lower than had been originally anticipated following adverse weather early this year.

Cocoa futures fell back, after a sharp rally on Friday.

May New York cocoa was down \\$21 or 0.75 percent at \\$2,769 a tonne. May London cocoa fell 17 pounds or 0.9 percent to 1,928 pounds a tonne.