London sugar mixed

Benchmark London white sugar futures settled mixed on Tuesday amid trade buying and arbitrage selling as the market anticipated firm physical demand, traders said. Front-month October concluded up 90 cents at $287.3 per tonne in volume of 2,098 lots, after trading from $285.8 to $288.
December ended down 70 cents at $275.7 per tonne in volume of 1,124 lots.
"The whites-over-raws premium is increasing, and people are chasing a short supply of whites. There is light arbitrage selling," a trader said, referring to an October-October premium of $76, up from $75 on Monday, and noting trade buying. Traders said there might have been hedging against a Pakistani white sugar purchase.
The State-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) said on Tuesday it had purchased 25,000 tonnes of white sugar from a US-based firm at $324 a tonne C&F Karachi.
A European sugar broker noted talk Bangladesh was considering bids received in a tender to buy 25,000 tonnes of white sugar for September shipment.
Thailand's sugar trade is expected to stay thin this week ahead of a key tender that will help set the direction for prices next year, traders said on Monday.
The Thai Cane and Sugar Corp (TCSC) plans to sell on Wednesday 400,000 tonnes of raw sugar for export in 2006, about half the sugar allocated for sale each year through the semi-official marketing agency.
COCOA CREEPS UP:
London's cocoa market managed to regain a few pounds on Tuesday, closing at the highest in almost two weeks as it continued a faltering recovery from this month's declines, dealers said.
Volume was 6,604 lots and gains came mainly from short covering.
Liffe's benchmark December position ended up three pounds at 826 pounds a tonne on volume of 3,411 lots in a narrow 823-834 range.
Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached 1,157,647 tonnes between October 1, 2004 and August 6, 2005, according to an estimate by major exporters on Tuesday.
COFFEE HIGHER:
London robusta coffee moved higher on Tuesday as a withdrawal by fund sellers enabled a light rebound, traders said.
Liffe's benchmark November added $18 to close at $1,030 a tonne while front-month September rose $17 to $997. Total volume was 10,144 lots.
"Funds have taken their foot off the pedal," a dealer said.
November scored a four-month contract low of $990 last week after speculative investors cut back on their net long positions, triggering selling by producers and smaller speculators. In news from origin, Ivory Coast coffee bean exports totalled 80,177 tonnes from October to July, down about 17 percent on the same period last year, port data showed on Tuesday.