London white sugar futures climbed to a four-and-a-half-month high in late trading on Friday although there was concern the run-up in prices could be stalled by producer selling, dealers said.
Cocoa ended slightly down with the market consolidating after its run-up to a four-and-a-half-month peak earlier this week while robusta coffee ended lower on a pick-up in producer selling after the recent run-up in prices.
March whites ended $3.00 firmer at $302.00 a tonne, the highest level for the front month since August 2 as New York raws tested key resistance at the 10.50 cent a lb level, basis March. "If it goes above 10.50 (basis March raws) we will see much more selling pressure from producers," one dealer said.
The potential for sales by India may, however, have been diminished by a late start to crushing. Indian sugar output this season is likely to be 3 million tonnes below forecasts due to a late start to some crushing, perhaps stemming any further fall in already rock-bottom prices, a leading firm said on Friday. Volume in London was light at just 4,041 lots. Cocoa futures ran into profit-taking and trade selling after the recent rise in prices.
COCOA FALL: March cocoa ended down 7 pounds at 1,056 pounds a tonne. The contract peaked at 1,073 pounds on Thursday, its highest level since July 26, with the market climbing about 100 pounds in two weeks on fund buying in both London and New York. "Fresh money is coming in because cocoa is cheap compared to other commodities," one dealer said.
Dealers said the advance in prices had triggered some hedge selling in futures although business in the physical market was slow. "Industry seems to think London is overbought and is waiting for better times. A lot were just waiting out this week," one physical cocoa dealer said.
Workers at cocoa export warehouses in Ivory Coast unloaded a backlog of lorries at Abidjan port on Friday, a day after labourers suspended a four-day stoppage over pay and conditions, exporters said.
COFFEE LOWER: Robusta coffee futures were lower with selling by top robusta producer Vietnam weighing on the market. "It feels as if Vietnam wants to continue selling," one dealer said, adding scale-down industry buying underpinned the market.
March finished down $15 at $1,860 a tonne. Dealers said producer selling had picked up after a sharp advance in prices with March touching a low of $1,736 a tonne less than two weeks ago on a wave of selling by system funds.
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