March white sugar ended $5.10 lower at $744.50 a tonne on Wednesday. Business dominated by rolling forward of positions ahead of Friday's expiry. Firm dollar weighed on the market. May cocoa on Liffe ended 12 pounds higher at 2,222 pounds a tonne. Market seen oversold after recent setback while weakness of sterling against the dollar provided support.
May robusta coffee finished $6 lower at $1,325 per tonne, hovering just above a contract low of $1,310 set on Monday. Firm dollar and ample supplies helping to keep the market on the defensive. In early trade, raw sugar and arabica coffee futures on ICE eased on Wednesday, weighed by a stronger dollar, while cocoa edged up with the market seen oversold after recent weakness, dealers said.
"Movements in the euro/dollar have hit nearly every commodity and sugar has been impacted by this," said Romain Lathiere, fund manager with Diapason Commodities Management. March raw sugar futures on ICE stood 0.31 cents or 1.2 percent lower at 26.76 cents a lb at 1548 GMT.
The contract traded as low as 25.70 cents on Friday, down more than 15 percent from a 29-year peak of 30.40 cents set on February 1 before regaining some ground on Monday. "The drop was really sharp and very quick so I think it disappointed a lot of people. Maybe we could retest the 30 cent level but I would not be sure that sugar prices could make new highs," Lathiere said.
Dealers said sugar remained underpinned, however, by tight supplies and the prospect of strong demand from several major importers including India, Pakistan and Mexico. "I'm still friendly to the upside. I think there are a lot of people waiting in the wings to buy sugar and they should take their opportunity soon because I think the price will go up again," one London dealer said.
Indian buyers booked 180,000 tonnes of physical raw sugar for March and July shipment when futures fell on Friday but there was talk that no business was concluded at Pakistan's tender for 150,000 tonnes of whites. Pakistan is scheduled to hold another tender next weekend.
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