Liffe's robusta futures closed lower on Thursday after eroding previous gains once technical selling in New York spilt into the London market, dealers said. "Funds have been technical sellers and there's long liquidation led by New York," one trader said.
A second dealer said the International Coffee Organisation's revision higher of its forecast for 2005/06 global coffee production also spurred selling.
A monthly report put output at 108 million 60-kg bags, up from 106 million forecast last month and down from the 114.93 million bags estimated for 2004/05.
Liffe's benchmark November robusta declined $14 to $915 a tonne on volume of 3,402 lots and a range of $911-948.
Scale-down industry buying help limit losses and dealers said they were looking for prices to hold around 895.
Overall volume was 43,148 lots with most of the turnover coming from trade Against Actuals of over 18,000 lots on both front-month September and January.
Brazilian farmers picked 96 percent of an estimated 34.70 million 60-kg bags 2005/06 (July/June) coffee crop by September 12, compared with 94 percent a week ago, analysts Safras e Mercado said.
COCOA FLAT: London cocoa traded sideways on Thursday, wavering around its lowest in 3-1/2 weeks as players braced for new lows, traders said.
Liffe's December closed unchanged at 819 pounds a tonne and made a low of 813 and a high of 824. It traded 4,662 lots out of a total of 7,249. Market participants are nervous that a lack of fund buying interest, the imminent flow of cocoa of new West African crops and technical weakness after a break of 820 could precipitate a collapse of August's 795 low.
SUGAR LITTLE CHANGED: London white sugar futures closed little changed on Thursday with the focus on the expiry of the October contract.
Dealers noted the October/December spread tumbled to about 50 cents at one point as funds rolled forward long positions from October into December but was indicated at $9.40 at the close, up from $9.00 on Wednesday.
There was talk that two cargoes of whites, one Argentine and one Brazilian, could possibly be delivered against October.
Trade buying of the March contract was also noted.
October erased losses late and ended at the day's high of $309.00 per tonne, unchanged from Wednesday on a volume of 3,820 lots. December fell 60 cents to $299.40, with turnover of 5,551 lots. In physicals, the European Union sold 60,500 tonnes of white sugar at a maximum rebate of 41.25 euros per 100 kg at Thursday's tender, according to data issued by the European Commission.
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