London benchmark white sugar futures closed lower on Tuesday on trade and speculative selling after hitting a 5-1/2-month low of $424.00 per tonne, traders said.
Benchmark October ended down $4.80 or 1.11 percent at $426.20 per tonne in volume of 2,766 lots, having moved from $430.00 to $424.00.
December finished down $4.20 to $422.80 in volume of 739 lots after trading from $425.40 to $421.50.
"The whole market fall started with a lower Tokyo market overnight and that brought selling into London and then later in New York," one trader said.
Traders said speculators were unwinding long positions on the view that there was plenty of sugar available, and physical buyers were inclined to wait until the market hit a floor and began its recovery.
Russia's imports of raw sugar dropped in the first half of 2006 after purchases in June were much lower than in June last year, customs data showed on Tuesday.
Sugar producer EID Parry (India) Ltd expects its growth to ease back a little on stable prices in 2006/07, after a robust season last year when prices and output had spurted, a senior official said.
Ukraine's fourth-largest sugar producer, Astarta, has priced its initial public offering of about 5 million shares at 19 Polish zloty ($6.3) per share, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Brazil's biggest sugar cane producing state Sao Paulo said it will again suspend burning of cane fields in some areas on Tuesday, due to poor air quality and public health risk.
COCOA HIGHER:
London cocoa futures gained on Tuesday but failed to stray far from a recent two-month continuation low as the West African mid-crop tailed off and market players awaited news on the new harvest, traders said.
Liffe's front-month September cocoa rose seven pounds to 852 pounds a tonne having moved 2,652 lots between 860 and 843.
"It feels like there's some support, there's been some trade buying," a dealer said, adding that the bulk of the turnover came from spread activity.
Total volume was 5,714 lots with 2,245 lots traded on second-month December, which strengthened by eight pounds to settle at 879.
The market is typically quiet at this time of year, with many industry players on holiday and West African producers between crops.
COFFEE MIXED:
London robusta coffee futures closed mixed on Tuesday as the market paused after its recent rapid ascent on supply fears, dealers said.
Liffe's benchmark November contract rose $5 to $1,380 a tonne after a range of $1,384, a 6-1/2-year high for the second position, to $1,365 on volume of 3,684 lots.
September settled down $4 at $1,394 a tonne in volume of 3,889 lots, after moving from $1,395 to $1,384.
The November contract gained 19 percent in two weeks amid increasing concern about a shortage of Vietnamese robusta.
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