* Coffee roasters seen buying hand-to-mouth - trade
* Sugar weighed by big Brazil crop, Thai supplies
* Cocoa trade focused on Ivorian mid crop flows
* COMING UP: ICE softs closed Friday, Liffe Friday and
Monday (Adds byline, dateline, was LONDON. Adds analysts comments, price table, updates prices.)
By Marcy Nicholson and David Brough
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - ICE arabica coffee futures fell on Thursday, after Wednesday's 34-year high was viewed as overdone, while cocoa fell in thin volume as dealers squared positions before the Easter holiday break.
Sugar inched higher in rangebound business.
"You're seeing a bit of a pull-back in the softs and the energy markets today, I think, just ahead of the long weekend," said Luis Rangel, vice-president for commodity derivatives with ICAP North America in Jersey City. "Traditional buyers may be extending the weekend a day early."
ICE July arabica coffee fell 4.15 cents or 1.4 percent to $2.9490 per lb at 1641 GMT, after climbing to $3.0055. The contract had risen above the psychological $3 level to peak at $3.025 a lb on Wednesday, supported by a shortage of mild washed arabicas and a weak dollar.
"If you see the kind of delivery notices that are being thrown out in the market, it definitely makes things a little bit heavy," Rangel said.
"When you see weakening spreads you start to get concerned that the bull story is less convincing than it was."
On April 20, there were 1,608 delivery notices, the highest for the May contract in two years. There were more than 500 notices on Thursday.
Dealers said the high prices were causing roasters to buy hand-to-mouth, eschewing longer-term forward coverage.
"There's more than enough coffee to fulfill demand ... it's just the crop of tenderable washed arabica coffee is small," a European trader said.
Liffe July robustas dropped $47 or 1.9 percent to close at $2,435 a tonne.
ICE Futures U.S. coffee, cocoa and sugar markets will be closed for Good Friday and the electronic platform will reopen late on Monday at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT). Open outcry will see regular hours on April 25. The Liffe agricultural markets will be closed both Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.
Cocoa futures eased in light volumes, with eyes on top producer Ivory Coast where Belgian shipper Safmarine loaded its first cocoa exports there since the end of the country's export ban, the company's head of commodity sales said. [ID:nLDE73K1K1]
"I don't see shipping on a big scale until banks open and I don't see much on that front while it's still violent. Middle class Abidjan people aren't going to work yet," one New York dealer said.
U.S. cocoa futures ignored the sharply higher pound
"Ghana sold yesterday and maybe today at the highs. Left over hedges are being put down which is why London is weaker than New York," the trader said.
ICE second-month, July cocoa closed down $18 at $3,088 per tonne, while London July cocoa fell 32 pounds to settle at 1,890 pounds per tonne.
"Now the question is, what will the arrivals be like in the next few weeks from the mid crop," said Keith Flury, a soft commodities analyst with Rabobank in London.
"The talk is that there is good supply from the mid crop -- some 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of beans should make it to the ports -- so the price risk is to the downside."
Raw sugar futures on ICE turned higher in rangebound dealings after Wednesday's jump, with upside potential seen limited by expectations of ample production of the sweetener from Brazil and bumper supplies from major exporter Thailand.
"We expect the steadiness (in prices) to continue in the short term, but believe that, ultimately, supplies will increase and producer hedging will become heavier," said Nick Penney of brokerage Sucden Financial.
ICE July raw sugar futures rose 0.14 cent or 0.6 percent to 23.67 cents a lb at 1647 GMT. London August white sugar settled up 40 cents at $639.10 per tonne. * Prices as of 1651 GMT Product Last Change Pct Move End 2010 Ytd Pct ICE sugar 25.44 0.24 +0.95 32.12 -20.80 ICE coffee 294.95 -4.50 -1.50 241.80 21.98 ICE cocoa 3084.00 -22.00 -0.71 3052.00 1.05 Liffe sugar 639.10 0.40 +0.06 777.50 -17.80 Liffe coffee 2435.00 -47.00 -1.89 2097.00 16.12 Liffe cocoa 1890.00 -32.00 -1.66 2029.00 -6.85 CRB index 366.77 1.23 +0.34 332.80 10.21 Crude oil 111.92 0.47 +0.42 91.38 22.48 Euro/dlr 1.46 0.01 +0.95 1.34 8.97 * ICE sugar and ICE coffee in cents per lb, ICE cocoa, Liffe sugar and Liffe coffee in dollars per tonne. Liffe cocoa in pounds per tonne.
(Additional reporting by Sarah McFarlane in London; Editing by Rene Pastor)