White sugar futures fell from a four-month top but closed up a shade, while the raws reversed to finish lower on Friday, after a wave of profit-taking hit the markets. Coffee and cocoa futures finished the day strong but below session peaks. White sugar jumped to a four-month top earlier in the session, boosted by a Thai tender to buy 100,000 tonnes and the temporary shutdown of Brazil's No 2 port Paranagua.
News that Thailand will tender on Tuesday for 100,000 tonnes of white sugar was a supportive surprise. "I've never heard in so many years in the sugar business that Thailand would tender to buy, they must have a real shortage," Pierre Sebag of London-based consultancy Sugar K said.
Thailand is the world's second largest sugar exporter behind Brazil, but tight domestic supplies have driven it to hold a tender to buy from the world market. Brazil's Paranagua port, important in the shipment of grains and sugar, resumed operations on Friday after a judge overruled a decision by the state environment watchdog, Ibama, to close it down, the port said in a statement. "The loading of sugar out of Brazil is running at maximal levels," said James Kirkup, director and head of sugar brokerage at ABN Amro Markets (UK) Ltd.
Liffe August white sugar closed up 70 cents at $606.50 per tonne, after hitting a four-month high at $623.50. ICE October raw sugar futures slid 0.48 cent or 2.8 percent to close at 16.61 cents per lb, with dealers eyeing key nearby resistance at the psychological 18-cents-a-lb level.
Cocoa futures finished quietly higher, with the London market still focused on large nearby premiums with July/September holding near 220 pounds but the open interest on the front month was falling sharply. Liffe September cocoa traded up 5 pounds to close at 2,385 pounds a tonne. September cocoa on ICE climbed $27 to finish at $2,996 per tonne.
Cocoa futures on Liffe were steady as the market absorbed news that the open interest on the July contract, which expires on July 15, had fallen by 10,146 lots to 39,002 lots. Dealers said the run-up had been largely technically driven although falling exchange stocks on both ICE and Liffe, as well as tight supplies of washed arabica beans, have helped to underpin prices. September arabica futures on ICE climbed 1.75 cents to close at $1.6385 a lb, after climbing to $1.6720.
The contract rose as high as $1.7650 a couple of weeks ago but had become heavily overbought and fell back to $1.5685 on Tuesday before starting to climb back up again. September robustas on Liffe gained $13 to finish at $1,709 a tonne.
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