London sugar ends above seven-month low

London benchmark white sugar futures closed above a seven-month low after a session dominated by speculative selling amid strong global supplies on Thursday, traders said.
Spot refined sugar futures have sunk sharply, with minor upward corrections, since July 6 when they finished at $490.0 per tonne, and on Thursday touched $374.00 per tonne, their lowest level since January 19, 2006 when they hit $372.30.
Most-active front-month October futures closed at $380.50 per tonne, down $10.50 or 2.7 percent in volume of 4,283 lots.
Second-month December settled down $10.10 to $378.80 per tonne in volume of 1,606 lots, after trading from $387.80 to $374.
Speculators have dumped long positions on surging supplies as farmers from Russia to Thailand increased sugar plantings to take advantage of rising raw sugar prices, which hit a 25-year peak at 19.73 cents a lb in early February.
COFFEE DOWN:
London robusta coffee futures ended down on profit-taking by speculators after it touched a new 6-1/2-year high earlier on Thursday, traders said.
The benchmark November contract settled down $3, or 0.2 percent, at $1,434 a tonne after trading between $1,477, a new contract high, and $1,430. Total volume was 15,887 lots.
The market hit a previous 6-1/2-year high of $1,443 on Wednesday.
The traders also said weakness in New York weighed on London.
The front-month September contract traded up $12 at $1,507.
COCOA SLIP:
London cocoa futures ended slightly down in low-volume trade on Thursday, dealers said.
The most-active December contract dipped 2 pounds, or 0.2 percent, to 879 pounds a tonne after trading between 887 and 878 pounds. Total volume was a low 5,862 lots.
The traders said rollovers made up a significant portion of the day's trade and light industry buying had been largely met by small-scale speculative selling. The market traded unchanged at midsession.
London cocoa futures have been largely trading in a narrow range since July 20, while dealers say market participants are waiting for news on West Africa's new crops.