White sugar steadies, robustas hit 2-month high

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February 16, 2015 at 10:42 PM

LONDON: White sugar futures steadied in thin trading with the US market shut for Presidents' Day on Monday, while robusta coffee hit a two-month high and cocoa dipped.

Top sugar and coffee grower Brazil celebrated Carnival, so dealers expected light trading volumes throughout the session. Dealers spoke of a small delivery of 63,000 tonnes of Guatemalan white sugar against last Friday's expiry of the March contract.

The ICE exchange was expected to announce the delivery details later on Monday.

"London March 2015 white sugar expired at $382.80/tonne, weakening into the expiry, and with around 63,000 tonnes of Guatemalan white sugar reported to have been delivered by a French trade house," analyst Green Pool said in a weekly report.

A London-based broker referred to trade estimates that 63,000 tonnes of Guatemalan sugar were delivered by one deliverer to three receivers.

London May white sugar futures were up $1.50 or 0.4 percent to $391.80 per tonne at 1302 GMT, underpinned by tight supplies in the inter-crop period in Brazil. Robusta coffee rose for the fourth straight session to a fresh two-month high during Tet holiday celebrations in top grower Vietnam, supported by light producer selling.

May robusta coffee traded up $4, or 0.2 percent, at $2,040 a tonne, after rising to $2,051, the highest since Dec. 8.

"Short-term indicators suggest the potential for subsequent gains towards $2,050, while resistance holds near November's high of $2,112," said Myrto Sokou, senior research analyst with Sucden Financial.

May London cocoa futures traded down 9 pounds, or 0.5 percent, at 1,980 pounds a tonne, on light chart-based selling, underpinned by concerns over supplies from No. 2 grower Ghana.

"On the downside, a correction lower could see initial losses towards February's low of $1,864, which holds as short-term support," Sokou said.

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