Cocoa futures held steady on Monday while coffee edged up as both markets sought to recover from steep declines early last week, dealers said. Sugar prices, however, were sharply down as weak oil and grain markets helped to spark profit-taking after the market's sharp advance earlier this month.
September cocoa on ICE stood a marginal $1 lower at $2,911 a tonne. Prices have fallen about nearly 12 percent after setting a contract high of $3,290 on July 1.
"We are in a consolidation phase (on cocoa) after the retracement. I do believe we are aiming towards a lower level but we need to break below $2,840 (basis ICE September), said Philip Carlsson, analyst with Copenhagen-based Saxo Bank.
Cocoa prices rose to the highest levels in more than 20 years earlier this month, buoyed by fund buying against the backdrop on supply tightness exacerbated by crop concerns in Ivory Coast and Indonesia.
September cocoa in London fell 8 pounds to 1,532 pounds a tonne. Dealers said the market featured tidying up of positions on July contracts in London and New York which expire on Wednesday. September arabica futures on ICE rose 0.75 cents to $1.43 per lb. The contract has fallen sharply after touching $1.5605 a week ago.
Prices in London also edged up with September robustas up $19 at $2,350 a tonne. Sugar prices fell sharply, weakened by profit-taking sparked partly by lower oil and grain markets. October raws tumbled 0.49 cents to 13.50 cents a lb.
The contract had climbed steeply to a peak of 14.35 cents on July 3 from as low as 10.86 cents in early June. August whites in London bucked the trend and rose $1.00 to $388.80 on rolling forward of short positions ahead of its expiry on Wednesday.
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