London robusta coffee futures finished higher on Wednesday with nearby positions rising on renewed concern about a supply squeeze for the November contract.
Cocoa futures settled little changed, hemmed in by an ample supply of beans from West Africa, while white sugar futures finished narrowly mixed and flat in activity dominated by position rolling before expiry of the December contract.
London January robusta coffee futures settled up $33 at $1,903, just below a contract high of $1,919 touched shortly before the close. November finished up $63 at a contract high of $2,275 per tonne in reasonable volume of 8,629 lots.
The November/January premium rose on concern that the open position on November remains far in excess of available stocks.
"The bull seems to have the market on the run at the moment," one trader said. "If delivery is taken and there is not enough coffee against the long then it will be an interesting November with more blood on the streets." Most Vietnamese coffee beans that have been newly harvested and delivered to Saigon Port for loading are in good condition, traders said on Wednesday, dismissing concerns that rains had affected the quality of beans.
COCOA STEADIES: London cocoa futures finished steady, buoyed by worries over quality but hemmed in by abundant bean arrivals from West African main crops. March finished up 1 pound to 981 pounds per tonne in moderate volume of 5,601 lots.
"The market is underpinned by concern about black pod disease and talk that industry cover is low," one trader said. "Everyone is waiting for the hedging to start to hit." London white sugar futures closed little changed, with activity centred on rolling of positions before expiry of December on November 15.
December closed up 10 cents at $283.60 per tonne in above-average volume of 11,018 lots. Any upside in white sugar futures is limited by a huge global supply glut, led by leading producers Brazil and India.
White sugar futures appeared to be oblivious to the surge in oil prices to all-time highs, despite a perceived link between sugar and oil prices because of the use of Brazilian sugarcane to manufacture ethanol biofuel.
India has loaded its first shipment of sugar to Russia in recent memory, dealers said on Wednesday, underscoring its emergence as a major supplier of raw sugar to the world market.
Sugar refiner and sweetener maker Tate & Lyle Plc reported a near 20-percent dip in half-year profit on Wednesday and warned higher corn costs in Europe and the weak dollar remain areas of uncertainty. Investment guru Jim Rogers advised a hedge fund conference on Wednesday to sell US investment banks, US housing stocks and the dollar, avoid India and Russia and place large bets on China and commodities.
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