London sugar rises

Liffe October white sugar futures ended $17.50 higher at $559.70 per tonne on Thursday. Nearby supplies remain tight, helping to widen the front month's premium to December. Liffe September robusta coffee settled $19 higher at $1,691 per tonne. ICE arabicas leading the current advance in coffee prices and the Liffe market's discount has widened.
Liffe September cocoa ended 13 pounds lower at 2,273 pounds a tonne. Market seeking to consolidate after steep setback early this week. "Buying was focused on October, the October/March spread moved from a discount to a premium," said a London-based broker, noting that the white sugar market was inverted also on strong demand and tight nearby supplies.
Dealers said forecasts for a tropical storm for the Gulf of Mexico triggered a rally in oil prices which spilled over into commodity markets on Thursday. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, hit one-month highs on Thursday.
Coffee prices were stronger although dealers were sceptical about how high the market could move given a record crop from Brazil is in the midst of being harvested in mostly favourable weather conditions. "Speculators are buying it back after selling it, there may be some people re-establishing long positions. I don't think the market is going to run away from here to the upside," said a London-based broker. "This time of year the market tends to come off seasonally as we're coming toward the end of the frost season. Forecasts for the remainder of July are favourable and then it's really just the first couple of weeks in August," said the broker.
Cocoa markets edged lower, consolidating losses after ICE futures recorded their largest fall in 2-1/2 months on Monday, when dealers said small speculative players taking profits triggered a sell off. "There's a little bit of manufacturer buying but not as good as it was at the start of the week," said a London-based broker. Dealers continue to eye the development of the world's largest producing region West Africa's main crop, due to begin harvest in September/October.