London cocoa prices were unchanged for most of Friday before receiving a late fillip from a speculator-driven jump in New York, traders said. LIFFE's March broke through resistance at around 905 pounds to close at 917 pounds a tonne after an 889-931 range on turnover of 3,869 lots. It accounted for most of the 6,998 lot volume.
Front-month December shot up to as high as 908 shortly before closing at 898 pounds. The intraday low was 871 and volume reached 950 lots.
New York benchmark cocoa futures jumped more than 3.6 percent to a two-week high on a late spurt of fund buying, with NYBOT's March reaching as high as $1,705 a tonne after setting off buy stops around $1,680.
"Dollar weakness is giving strength to New York," one dealer said. Sterling rebounded towards this week's 12-year high against the dollar on Friday after weaker than expected US jobs data.
Industry buying was seen in London as buyers remain fearful of any recurrence of the turmoil that rocked Ivory Coast last month.
The leader of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's militant supporters called on Friday for a mass demonstration to demand the departure of a French peacekeeping contingent involved in November's clashes.
London's March contract has hovered close to the 900-pound level since backtracking from a high of 1,032 reached on November 10 when mob violence against expatriates in Ivory Coast peaked.
COFFEE DOWN: Fund selling caused losses of more than two percent across the board on London's robusta coffee market on Friday in what traders said was a reversal of a five-week rally.
LIFFE's March fell 19 pounds, or 2.4 percent, to 777 pounds a tonne after ranging between 760 and 787 on turnover of 5,480 lots.
Front-month January fell $20 to $754 after turning over 5,997 lots between $740 and $764. The session tally was 13,238.
SUGAR ENDS DOWN: London sugar futures closed weaker on trade selling in thin volumes on Friday, and traders said the market seems stuck in a broad sideways trading range, with doggedly high freight dampening physical business.
March settled down 90 cents at $255.20 a tonne in volume of 1,756 lots, having moved between $256.80 and $253.40.
May concluded down 20 cents at $263.00 in volume of 302 lots, after trading in a $264.00-261.50 range.
"We have seen some trade selling in an otherwise quiet day. The market is in a range," one trader said.
Traders say March white sugar futures are stuck in a wide band between around $250 and $260.
Trade sources said Libyans had bought around a cargo of white sugar from a European trade house this week, but there was no immediate confirmation. Prospects for EU beet sugar crop quality in 2004/05 are encouraging and sugar yields will be similar to 2003, European analysts said on Friday.
"Exceptional planting densities and root weights across Europe meant a better than expected crop could be possible," sugar trader ED&F Man said in a report.
ED&F Man predicted on Friday a global sugar deficit of 3.4 million tonnes in 2004/05 amid expectations of lower Asian crops and increased Brazilian output of ethanol from sugar.
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