OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2015. Raw sugar futures edged lower a slight correction on Wednesday after breaking above psychological resistance at 15 cents a lb in the previous session, while arabica coffee futures steadied after a sharp sell-off on Tuesday.

New York cocoa was little changed in modest volumes.

ICE March raw sugar futures traded down 0.01 cent, or 0.1 percent, at 15.13 cents a lb at 1525 GMT.

"You may be seeing a little bit of profit taking," said Tracey Allen, commodities analyst with Rabobank.

She also referred to pressure from a soft Brazilian real against the dollar, which Rabobank expects to weaken further this year.

A weak real boosts the local currency returns to Brazilian millers from dollar-denominated sugar sales.

"Rains in centre-south Brazil and a weak real against the U.S. dollar continue to cap the market and we may see a post Carnival hangover set in," said Nick Penney, a senior trader with Sucden Financial Sugar.

News that India's cabinet could on Thursday consider a raw sugar export subsidy, added to downward pressure.

"Whilst it has long been 'flagged', the announcement and confirmation may weigh on overall sentiment," Penney said.

May white sugar traded down \\$0.80, or 0.2 percent, at \\$394.90 per tonne.

Arabica coffee futures on ICE steadied after sliding as much as 5.3 percent in heavy volume on Tuesday on chart-based selling, cutting the bean's premium over robusta to a one-year low.

ICE May arabicas were down 0.7 cent, or 0.4 percent, at \\$1.5815 per lb.

"A resumption of gains could retest the 40-day moving average of \\$1.6986 per lb. Resistance holds near January's high of \\$1.8740 per lb and the key area of \\$2 per lb," said Myrto Sokou, senior research analyst with Sucden Financial.

Robusta coffee futures moved lower after rising to a 2-1/2 month high on Tuesday, underpinned by concerns over dry weather in growing areas in Espirito Santo in Brazil.

May robusta coffee futures were down \\$16, or 0.8 percent, at \\$2,004 per tonne, below Tuesday's 2-1/2-month peak of \\$2,077.

ICE May cocoa futures were up \\$15, or 0.5 percent, at \\$2,957 per tonne, while London May cocoa traded down 4 pounds, or 0.2 percent, at 1,993 pounds per tonne.