London sugar down

London white sugar futures closed lower on speculative profit-taking on Tuesday, and traders said further falls could trigger renewed physical buying.
Benchmark August settled down $2.30 at $484.70 per tonne in volume of 4,045 lots after trading from $485.20 to $479.20. October finished down $2.80 at $474.20 in volume of 992 lots, having moved from $475.60 to $469.00.
Total volume was 5,585 lots. Traders said speculative selling in oil and metals markets early in the day had dragged on white sugar futures, which later regained ground but remained in negative territory.
"There is spec selling. Anyone intelligent is taking profits. The main feature is that there is little going on in the physicals - except for Pakistani buying," one trader said, noting further falls in futures could entice physical buyers.
Traders noted some bearish news in the market, including a report from merchant ED&F Man predicting that the centre-south Brazilian harvest would limit and possibly weigh on sugar prices, and noting a recent drop in imports by Russia.
Sugar harvesting in centre-south Brazil is expected to limit and may even weigh on prices despite a firm outlook for the global sugar balance and the impact of oil prices, merchant ED&F Man said.
Russian raw sugar imports fell month-on-month in April as import margins turned negative, and imports this year may not match levels seen in 2005 because of expectations of an import duty cut next year, ED&F Man said.
Russia is the world's top raw sugar importer.
Oil steadied below $70 a barrel and copper and gold edged up on Tuesday, stemming a sell-off the previous day that sent prices across commodity markets tumbling from record or near-record highs.
London copper ended slightly higher in volatile trading on Tuesday after tumbling nearly nine percent on Monday, and analysts said uncertainty would be the key near-term feature of the market.
COFFEE STEADIES London robusta coffee futures ended little changed on Tuesday, with trade and roaster buying offset by speculative selling, dealers said.
July closed up $2 at $1,151 a tonne after trading in a range of $1,164 to $1,144.
Dealers said total volume of 8,241 lots was boosted by active trading of the July/September spread and 800 to 900 lots of trade Against Actuals.
They noted last week's decline, which saw July dip to a five-week low of $1,132, appeared to have run out of steam with the market continuing to be underpinned by nearby supply tightness for robustas.
"The market is devoid of any momentum," one dealer said.
Coffee-growing countries must expand production of specialty coffee soon to prevent retail prices for high-quality beans rising over the next year or two, according to an industry association executive.
COCOA EDGES UP London cocoa futures closed slightly higher on Tuesday as industry buying offset origin selling, dealers said.
Benchmark July rose 5 pounds to settle at 867 a tonne, trading in a range of 858 to 868 in turnover of 3,200 lots. Total volume was 6,842 lots. "There's origin selling as it runs up and industry is there as it slips lower," a trader said.
In fundamentals, farmgate prices in Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions were mostly down from May 8 to 14, Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) data showed on Tuesday, as mid-crop bean supplies maintained a strong and steady flow.