LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Raw sugar futures on ICE turned lower on Tuesday with the market back on the defensive after a recent rally as the focus returned to an improving crop outlook and the prospect of a global surplus in the 2017/18 season.

Robusta coffee rose, boosted partly by gains in the New York-based arabica market on Monday when London contracts were closed for a public holiday.

SUGAR

* July raw sugar was off 0.12 cent, or 0.7 percent, to 16.06 cents per lb by 1357 GMT.

* Dealers said the market's rebound from a low of 15.35 cents on Thursday to a peak of 16.49 cents on Tuesday appeared to have run out of steam.

* Sentiment on fundamentals remained bearish and the run-up was seen as largely a technical correction after a prolonged slide in which the July contract fell around 25 percent in less than three months.

* "We expect more producer hedging as the crop progresses in CS (Centre-South) Brazil and we also do not discount funds going shorter in the face of an ever improving outlook for production," said Sucden Financial senior trader Nick Penney.

* "This may be simply a period of consolidation after what has been a sharp move lower."

* August white sugar was down $0.60 at $458.90 a tonne.        

COFFEE

* Robusta coffee futures were higher with July up $32, or 1.6 percent, at $1,978 a tonne.

* Dealers said the recent wave of fund long liquidation has now abated allowing the market to regain some ground.

* They noted speculators had now sharply reduced a net long in robusta coffee and switched to a net short in arabica for the first time since June 2016.

* July arabica coffee fell 1.90 cents or 1.4 percent to $1.3395 per lb, largely erasing the prior session's gains. The contract ended 1.8 percent higher on Monday.