SOFTS-Arabica coffee prices ease, raw sugar edges up

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Arabica coffee futures on ICE were marginally lower on Friday, weighed down partly by rising exchange stocks, while raw sugar prices edged higher.

COFFEE

* March arabica coffee fell 0.03% to $1.5865 per lb by 1227 GMT. The contract was on track for a weekly loss of about 2.4%.

* Dealers said the market was back on the defensive after a short-lived rally linked partly to a deteriorating outlook for next year's crop in Brazil.

* "After temporarily rebounding due to a worsening supply outlook in top producer Brazil and Colombia, arabica coffee prices have begun to ease, triggered by a sharp rebound in ICE arabica coffee inventories," Fitch Solutions said in a note.

* ICE certified coffee stocks stood at 668,581 bags on Dec. 8, well above a 23-year low of 382,695 bags set on Nov. 3. There were 395,432 bags pending grading.

* January robusta coffee fell 0.2% to $1,914 a tonne.

* The global coffee supply balance will shift from a deficit of 2.17 million bags in 2022/23 (April-March) to a surplus of 3.74 million bags in 2023/24 as Brazil's output partly recovers, according to a report by consultancy HedgePoint.

SUGAR

* March raw sugar rose 0.5% to 19.77 cents per lb by 1003 GMT.

* The market has been supported by rains in Brazil which is likely to result in millions of tonnes of cane being left in the fields to be harvested next year.

* March white sugar rose 0.04% to $540.80 a tonne.

COCOA

* March New York cocoa rose 1% to $2,567 a tonne.

* Cocoa plantations in Africa's largest-producing countries, including the world's No. 1 exporter Ivory Coast, are estimated to have greater resilience than usual in the coming dry season, a Climate42 agricultural weather report said.

* March London cocoa rose 0.9% to 1,996 pounds a tonne. (Reporting by Nigel Hunt; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)