London sugar falls

London white sugar futures closed slightly lower on Tuesday, weakened by trade selling in light volume, dealers said. March settled down $2.60 at $332.30 per tonne, near the bottom of the day's range of $335.50 to $332.00. The front month continues to hold just above a 13-month low of $322.50 set on January 12.
Total volume was 4,833 lots. "There has been a little trade selling around, but not a lot," one dealer said.
Weakness in New York raws helped to push prices down to the day's lows in late trading. One dealer noted spreads had remained little changed in a range between $9.50-10.50 in light turnover, and noted some options trade. RedTower Research noted in a daily report some physical offtake over the weekend, but there was no immediate official confirmation.
COFFEE LOWER: London robusta coffee finished down as pressure from late-day speculative sellers and a weaker opening in New York drove prices towards session lows, traders said. Benchmark March led the decline, dropping $30 or 1.9 percent to $1,538 a tonne.
May fell by $24 or 1.5 percent to $1,534. Total traded volume was 17,841 lots. "Industry buying was keeping us afloat, but New York eventually pulled us lower late in the afternoon," one dealer said.
COCOA HIGHER: London cocoa futures ended slightly higher on Tuesday, boosted by industry buying and gains in New York, although the strength of sterling helped to limit the advance, dealers said. March finished six pounds higher at 878 pounds a tonne, near the top of the day's range of 880 to 865 pounds. Total volume was 7,690 lots.
Dealers noted March had found support just above Monday's five-week low of 864 pounds, with dry weather in West African producing countries, including Ivory Coast, helping to underpin prices.
Traders said the strong pound dragged on the London market, which also eased under the pressure of West African origin sales and speculative long liquidation. "London is struggling to rally because of currency," one trader said.
Average farmgate prices for cocoa in Ivory Coast remained unusually high from January 15-21, data from the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) showed on Tuesday as buyers competed to secure diminishing supplies of beans.