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SOFTS-ICE coffee, cocoa firm, capped by economic worries

LONDON, Sept 25 | Tue Sep 25, 2012 5:33am EDT

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - ICE arabica coffee, cocoa and raw sugar futures edged up in light volumes in early trading on Tuesday, but gains were expected to be limited by worries about the global economy.

COFFEE

* ICE December arabica coffee futures were up 1.15 cents or 0.7 percent at $1.7345 per lb at 0904 GMT.

* Upside in coffee futures prices were limited by a slightly stronger dollar against a basket of currencies, which weighed on dollar-priced commodities.

* Dealers said recent rains in top producer Brazil should aid development of next year's smaller crop in the biennial crop cycle.

* November robusta coffee futures firmed $7 or 0.3 percent to $2,091 a tonne.

* Coffee trading is expected to pick up next month in Vietnam, the world's biggest exporter of robustas, where an accelerating harvest will help soften prices, traders said on Tuesday.

COCOA

* ICE December cocoa was up $14 or 0.6 percent at $2,460 per tonne.

* Liffe December cocoa was up 5 pounds or 0.3 percent at 1,588 pounds per tonne.

* Dealers tracked developments in top producer Ivory Coast, where details on sector reforms were becoming clearer in the lead-up to the start of the 2012/13 season on Oct. 1.

* Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached around 1,375,000 tonnes by Sept. 23, exporters estimated on Monday, compared with 1,480,593 tonnes in the same period of the previous season.

* Commodities trade house Armajaro Trading has appointed Richard Gower acting chief executive after the departure of Richard Ryan, the company said in a statement on Monday.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar futures were supported by rain delaying Brazil's harvest. Dealers said the anticipated world surplus kept downward pressure on prices.

* ICE October raw sugar futures were up 0.07 cent or 0.4 percent at 19.57 cents per lb, trading above a two-year low of 18.81 cents touched on Sept. 6, pressured by the large global surplus of the sweetener.

* Growing demand for sugar from parts of Asia could offer much-needed support to a global market hit by a widening surplus that has driven prices to their lowest in nearly two years, industry officials said on Tuesday.

* Suedzucker increased its sales and earnings targets for the current financial year thanks to its sugar segment.

* A few cargoes of Thai white sugar were sold at premiums to London futures this week, while rising demand from Indonesia could push up the value of raw sugar for next year's delivery, dealers said on Tuesday.

* December white sugar on Liffe rose $3.80 or 0.7 percent to $571.60 per tonne.

* Tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures indicating the onset of an El Nino have eased over the last two weeks, reducing the chance of the weather event emerging, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday.

MARKETS

* The euro dipped, European shares were little changed and some commodities recovered in cautious trade on Tuesday as investors remained concerned about global growth and waited for Spain to unveil plans to resolve its fiscal problems. (Reporting by David Brough; Editing by Alison Birrane)

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