NY coffee and sugar close weaker, cocoa climbs

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures on ICE
closed lower Monday, paring losses after triggering sell-stops
and hitting a two-month low.
U.S. cocoa finished higher, along with the commodity complex
and finding support from the strong sterling. Raw sugar ended
down a shade after being slightly higher for most of the
session.

2:00 PM SETTLE NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT
CHNG CHNG VOL
Sugar MAR 24.64 -0.03 -0.1% 24.45 24.84 43,839
Sugar MAY 23.79 -0.01 0.0% 23.64 23.93 41,286
Cocoa MAR 2199 43 2.0% 2,148 2,238 10,735
Cocoa MAY 2192 31 1.4% 2,150 2,224 17,310
Coffee MAR 212.3 -3 -1.4% 210.00 217.60 21,428
Coffee MAY 214.6 -2.8 -1.3% 212.70 219.60 20,269

TOTAL MARKET VOLUME
CURRENT 30D AVG 250D AVG
ICE SUGAR 110,414 99,869 101,930
ICE COCOA 32,822 14,670 17,358
ICE COFFEE 51,420 17,058 19,362

SUGAR
* Key March raw sugar futures changed direction and
closed down 0.03 cent at 24.64 cents a lb.
* March/May spreading was active, with the premium remaining
strong at 0.85 cent.
* Market was choppy, finding some spillover strength from
the firm commodity complex - traders.
* Sugar futures remained rangebound, with strong resistance
at 25 cents per lb, basis March.

COFFEE
* Key May arabica coffee settled down 2.80 cents, or
1.3 percent, at $2.1460 per lb.
* May hit a session low at $2.1270 per lb, the lowest
intraday level for the second position since Dec. 19.
* March/May position rolling continued to boost volume
significantly ahead of first notice day for the March contract
on Feb. 21 - traders.
* March/May spread widened for the first time in two weeks,
closing at 2.30 cents per lb, from 2.10 cents on Friday.
* Market fell as buying interest dried up and the move lower
triggered sell-stops, a move seen as bearish in the face of a
strong commodity complex and rallying Liffe robusta market -
traders.
* ICE certified arabica stocks rose by 3,357 bags to
1,551,625 bags, with a heavy 48,196 bags pending grading - ICE
data.

COCOA
* May cocoa closed up $31, or 1.4 percent, a
$2,192 a tonne.
* Heavy March/May spreading continued ahead of the March
contract's first notice day Wednesday - traders.
* March moved to a $7 premium to May, marking the
firest time the market has been inverted since July 2010.
* Market climbed along with the firm sterling against
the U.S. dollar and the higher commodity complex - traders.
* Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast as of
Feb 12 were down nearly four percent at around 917,000 tonnes
versus 955,030 tonnes for the same period a year earlier -
exporters estimates.
* Irregular rainfall punctuated by hot weather last week in
most of Ivory Coast's principal cocoa-growing regions left
farmers uncertain over the development of their crops ahead of
the April-September mid-crop harvest - farmers.

(Reporting by Marcy Nicholson)