Liffe March white sugar ended $16.90 higher at $765.10 per tonne on Friday. Market buoyed by trade and fund buying fuelled by possible delays to Indian exports. Liffe May cocoa ended 3 pounds higher at 1,936 pounds a tonne. Market consolidating after sliding to a three-week low earlier in the week but a strong flow of cocoa out of West Africa seen limiting scope for rebound.
Liffe March robusta coffee finished $6 lower at $2,023 per tonne with a stronger dollar weighing on the market. "It was mainly trade buying at the beginning and then funds came in and pushed the market above 32.00 cents basis March," one London dealer said. The front month contract had suffered a steep correction from last week's 30-year peak of 34.77 cents and tested the key support band of 29.50 to 30.00 cents before rallying.
Dealers said the prospect that India may export 500,000 tonnes of sugar under open general licence (OGL) remained a key market focus with supplies seen key to helping alleviate nearby supply tightness. They noted the front month premium had edged back above 2.50 cents after dipping to around 2.20 to 2.25 cents earlier in the session. It remained sharply below a peak in late December of around 4.00 cents. "If Indian sugars are available, the spread (nearby premium) will narrow," another dealer said.
Cocoa futures rose with the market beginning to creep back up again after prices in London slid to a three-week low earlier this week. Dealers said signs that cocoa was flowing out of West Africa at a good pace despite political tensions in top grower Ivory Coast may help to cap gains. "I think the market is attempting to consolidate but we are not seeing large bounces...there is a perception there is a fair amount of cocoa coming through," a London-based dealer said.
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