London white sugar futures closed flat to lower on speculative profit-taking and trade sales on Wednesday, and traders said the market looked vulnerable to further selling. Front-month December settled down $3.1 or one percent at $298.7, having moved from $297 to $302.
Contracts further out were steadier, with March concluding 50 cents firmer at $307.5 in volume of 2,220 lots, after trading from $304 to $309.3.
Traders also referred to speculative profit-taking, noting that Liffe December futures had touched a contract high of $314 earlier this week as London tracked New York higher.
COFFEE UP: London coffee ended up on Wednesday but stayed within a two-week price range on a dearth of fundamental or technical triggers, dealers said.
Liffe's most-active November position concluded at $879 a tonne, $9 higher, having moved 2,548 lots in an $862-880 range. It has traded an $846-904 range for the past two weeks.
Second-month January accounted for most of the rest of the total 5,282 lot turnover with trade of 2,094 lots. It was $9 higher at $900 after moving between $882 and $901. Business focused on the November-January spread at $22.
COCOA STABLE: London cocoa futures hardly moved on Wednesday and dealers said expectations of copious supply from West Africa were still weighing on the market.
Cocoa players were expecting a good start to the 2005/06 season beginning this month, although questions remained about the effect of dry weather on the tail end of the main crop as well as Ivory Coast civil and political instability.
Liffe's most-active December ended one pound up at 831 pounds a tonne after an 827-845 range on turnover of 3,870 lots. The contract has backtracked from last week's 2-1/2-week contract high of 869. Total volume reached 4,986.
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