Liffe coffee rises

Liffe March robusta coffee ended $22 higher at $1,904 per tonne on Thursday as the market waits to see if rains will reduce both the size and quality of Vietnam's crop. Liffe March cocoa ended 17 pounds lower at 1,992 pounds a tonne. Market easing back from 4-month peak set earlier this week as traders continue to try to assess supply risk in Ivory Coast following the disputed presidential election.
Liffe March white sugar ends $5.20 lower at $727.20 per tonne. Market remains choppy as dealers wait for India to decide on how much sugar it will export. "A 50 percent retracement of the recent move in London and New York has nearly completed," a London-based broker said.
"If it breaks below these levels then maybe it's game over as a lot of funds have already tidied up their books and reduced positions and are unlikely to add positions until the new year," the broker said. Tens of thousands of tonnes of cocoa intended for world markets were held up in Ivory Coast on Thursday as a post-election power struggle threatened the West African nation's economic lifeline. A cash shortage may soon add pressure on incumbent Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo to cede power as businesses across the West African state withhold taxes needed to pay civil servants, soldiers and police.
Sugar prices were lower in choppy trade, underpinned by forecasts for rainfall in Brazil and uncertainty over how much sugar India would export. "The general sugar picture continues to look supportive in the near term and heavy rain is expected over centre-south Brazil in coming days," said Thomas Kujawa of broker Sucden Financial. "We suspect there will be stops around 30 cents a lb on the upside and around 28.30 cents on the downside."
"Sugar has been on a roller coaster ride this year, it went from 30 cents a lb down to 14 cents and now back up to around 30 cents," Doug King, co-founder of investment firm Aisling Analytics said. "Our view on sugar is we're in for another year of deficit in 2010/11 and all eyes are on whether India will export under their open general licence scheme."
India, the world's number 2 sugar producer after Brazil, has already allowed some restricted exports this year and the market is waiting for New Delhi to allow unrestricted exports, termed as open general licence (OGL). "If India does not permit exports under this scheme then the sugar price could move substantially higher towards 40 cents a lb," King said.