London white sugar futures closed mixed on Thursday but traders said the medium-term outlook remained bullish due to expectations of strong consumer demand. Front month October settled up 10 cents at $297.8 per tonne in volume of 9,143 lots, after trading from $296 to $302.2.
December concluded down 60 cents at $280.8 per tonne in volume of 2,824 lots, having moved from $279.6 to $285.6.
"It looks like they're (funds) still buying the October 2005 - open interest is more than double that of the December and that's what a lot of these funds go by," one trader said.
Traders said the market was likely to remain underpinned by strong physical demand for some time, noting strong interest in whites before Ramadan.
They said Thursday's EU sugar export tender was roughly in line with expectations.
The European Union sold 112,750 tonnes of white sugar at a maximum rebate of 40.31 euros per 100 kg at Thursday's tender, according to EU Commission data.
There was no immediate word on country by country breakdown of the total tonnage awarded.
Traders had earlier forecast that the EU would grant export rebates for 120,000 to 140,000 tonnes of white sugar at the tender.
They correctly forecast a maximum export rebate of 40.30 euros per 100 kg, compared with a theoretical maximum of 43.810 euros.
No bids were accepted at any of the European Union's tenders on Thursday to sell intervention sugar into the domestic market, European Commission data showed.
COCOA STEADIES London's cocoa futures closed steady on Thursday after failing to hold on to earlier gains in what dealers said was directionless trade.
Liffe's second-month December eased four pounds to 824 pounds a tonne and moved 3,784 lots in an 818-836 price band. Total volume was 6,782 lots.
Traders continued to talk of a possible short-covering rally after fund sales pushed prices to 13-month continuation lows last week.
But one dealer said prices were likely to move sideways while they remain hemmed in between expectations of a bumper West African crop next season and worries about unrest in Ivory Coast.
The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) expects a world cocoa surplus of 70,000 tonnes in the 2005/06 (October-September) season, after a deficit of more than 100,000 tonnes in 2004/05, an ICCO source said on Thursday.
COFFEE FALLS London robusta coffee declined on Thursday, hitting a new four-month low on fund and speculator selling, dealers said.
Liffe's benchmark November came down from an earlier session high of $1,020 to close 2.3 percent lower at $992 a tonne. It briefly breached support at $990 to touch $986 - the weakest price since April 12.
It drew volume of 7,034 lots from a total of 13,170 lots.
"The mood continues to be depressed...There is no confidence in the market," a trader said.
Second-month September lost 2.2 percent to $961 on volume of 4,088 lots.
Robusta has climbed down from a 5-1/2 year peak posted in early June of $1,333 but is still up by about a third since the start of the year.
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