London coffee futures ended in positive territory on optimism that funds will soon have to cover their short positions prompted speculative interest, floor sources said. Still, volume was thin as an absence of fundamental or technical incentives keeps the market range-bound.
Liffe's second-month January position finished six dollars up at $585 a tonne and moved 1,227 lots in a narrow 580-588 range. A total of 2,987 lots traded.
With Vietnamese dealers expecting output of around one million tonnes (16.7 million 60-kg bags) this crop there are no supplies worries to propel robusta prices higher.
Covering by funds believed to have a net short position of anything from 16,000 to 35,000 lots and support from New York are seen as the only hope for the Liffe market for the moment.
NYBOT's December arabica coffee was up 0.40 cent at 78.30 cents a lb by London's close.
The arabica market is gaining momentum from reports that Brazilian farmers are holding back beans in the hope of higher prices next year, when output by the world's top arabica producer is expected to fall.
Liffe's March ended up seven dollars at $603 a tonne on volume of 1,002 lots and May was left six dollars stronger at $622 on turnover of 451 lots.
cocoa at 2-month peak
Funds and speculative players piled into the London cocoa market on Friday, extending Thursday's sharp gains on concern Ivory Coast is sliding into another civil war, dealers said.
"We're not seeing industry buying at these levels but there's a fair amount of fund and speculative buying," a trader said.
London's December futures contract - which jumped almost seven percent on Thursday - closed 2.7 percent higher at more than a two-month high of 913 pounds a tonne. Volume on the front-month position was 12,928 lots and trading ranged between 891 and 926.
Government forces launched their first land attack against rebels holding the north of the country on Friday after a second day of air bombardment, France Info radio said.
Although technically the market is looking overbought, players were unwilling to sell before the weekend in case of new developments in Ivory Coast, dealers said.
Physical traders seemed optimistic that - depending on events over the weekend - the end of a farmers' strike should unleash a flurry of shipments next week.
The surge in prices should spur growers to market their beans as quickly as possible before mould sets in or unrest possibly spills over into the cocoa belt, they said.
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