London white sugar futures closed higher on Thursday, underpinned by tensions in the Middle East and strong oil prices, traders said. Benchmark August settled up $3.30 at $486.10 per tonne while October finished $4.10 higher at $476.90. Total volume was 8,165 lots.
"Specs are buying outright. The market is underpinned by strong oil and Middle East tensions," a trader said.
Traders also referred to spread trades ahead of the expiry of the August contract on Friday, and said they anticipated modest deliveries against the expiry.
An EU sugar tender award was in line with traders' expectations.
The European Union sold 60,000 tonnes of white sugar at a maximum rebate of 28.424 euros per 100 kg at Thursday's tender, according to EU data.
Out of this, traders in the UK received 50,000 tonnes and in Germany 10,000, a trader said. According to the EU data, the quantity offered was 359,400 tonnes.
Traders had expected that the EU would grant export rebates for 20,000 to 100,000 tonnes of white sugar at the tender.
They forecast a maximum export rebate of around 28.00 to 30.01 euros per 100 kg, compared with a theoretical maximum, basis October, of 31.010 euros.
COFFEE DOWN: London robusta coffee futures fell in range-bound trading on origin selling on Thursday with dealers saying the market would shoot upwards if it tops a recent high.
The benchmark September contract settled down $5, or 0.4 percent, at $1,312 a tonne after trading between $1,331 and $1,289. Total volume was 8,866 lots.
"There was some trade selling Indonesian origin," one dealer said.
The dealers added buy-stops had been initiated above $1,340, a 6-1/2-year high hit on Friday, which would result in the market shooting up rapidly if it touches the previous high. The November-January spread traded up to a premium of as much as $17. Dealers have said it developed because of a tightness in robusta supplies due to be resolved by the arrival of Vietnamese crop from February.
COCOA FALL:
London cocoa futures ended down on origin selling and profit-taking on Thursday, while the premium on the July-September contracts widened further, dealers said.
The benchmark September contract fell 7 pounds, or 0.7 percent, to 977 pounds a tonne after trading between 983 and 967 pounds. Total volume was 15,903 lots.
"It was trade selling for origin...probably Ghana," one dealer said, adding, "There was also some profit-taking from spec."
The dealer added there had been some speculator buying in the market.
Spot July settled up 3 pounds at 1,097 pounds, while its premium to September rose to 120 pounds from 111 by the settlement in the previous session.
Short covering by speculators was pushing the premium up towards the end of the July contract's expiry on Friday.
July's open interest figure, which dealers expect to shrink during the week, fell to 15,115 lots from 16,644 at the end of the last session.
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