ICE May contract delivery at 29,170 lots, say traders
Cocoa affected by signs of weak demand, improving supply
Breach of resistance level drives fund-buying in Arabica
Adds comments on ICE sugar expiry, updates prices
NEW YORK, April 30 (Reuters) - Sugar futures traded on the ICE exchange hit a 2-1/2-year low on Wednesday as better-than-forecast output data from leading producer Brazil reinforced views that supply is set to recover.
SUGAR
* May raw sugar contract SBK5 expired down 0.9% at 17.46 cents per lb, after earlier hitting 17.38, its lowest level since September 2022.
* Deliveries on the expiry of the May contract were seen at 29,170 lots, or 1.48 million metric tons, according to preliminary information from two sugar traders on Wednesday.
* Sugar production in Brazil's center-south region totalled 731,000 metric tons in the first half of April, industry group UNICA said, up 1.25% from a year earlier and beating analyst estimates.
* Brazil's sugar output in the center-south region was projected at 41.8 million metric tons in 2025/26, up 3.7% year-on-year, state agricultural agency Conab said.
* However, soft commodities analyst Sugar Trading Academy forecast 2025/26 sugar output in the area at just 38.1 million tons.
* White sugar LSUc1 fell 0.8% at $492.80 a ton.
COCOA
* New York cocoa CCc2 was little changed at $8,887 a ton, having hit a 1-1/2-week low at $8,394 earlier.
* Indicating weak demand for the chocolate ingredient, Cadbury-parent Mondelez MDLZ.O said first-quarter sales volumes dropped 3.5 percentage points as it increased its prices by 6.6 percentage points.
* A 4.7% first-half sales volume decline from cocoa and chocolate giant Barry Callebaut BARN.S pressured the market, dealers said, but better-than-forecast Q1 grind data from Europe, Asia and North America offset this somewhat.
* London cocoa LCCc2 hit a near two-week low of 6,038 a metric ton earlier, but recovered to close up 2.7% to 6,466 pounds per ton.
COFFEE
* Arabica coffee KCc2 settled up 0.95 cents, or 0.2%, at $4.0075 per lb, having set a 2-1/2-month high of $4.1890 on Tuesday.
* Technically-driven fund buying has picked up following the breach of resistance around $4.00 per lb, dealers said.
* Robusta coffee LRCc2 rose 1.3% at $5,369 a ton.
* Indonesia's Sumatra Robusta coffee bean exports in March were 22,770.8 metric tons, data showed, surging from 3,947.5 tons last year.
(Reporting by May Angel and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Sahal Muhammed, Barbara Lewis and Bill Berkrot)
((marcelo.teixeira@tr.com; +1 332 220 8062; Reuters Messaging: marcelo.teixeira.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net - https://x.com/tx_marcelo))
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