LONDON: White sugar futures on ICE edged up on Monday as the market tried to assess the extent of damage to Brazilian cane from last week's frosts. Raw sugar, arabica coffee and New York cocoa futures markets were closed on Monday due to a public holiday in the United States. August white sugar ended $1.10, or 0.2%, higher at $451.40 a tonne, edging back up towards a three-week high of $461.40 set on July 1.
"The frost could turn out to have caused severe damage (to Brazilian cane) but probably has not," broker Marex said in a weekly update on Monday. Pakistan's state trading agency TCP has purchased 100,000 tonnes of white sugar in a tender for the same volume which closed last week, European traders said on Monday.
September robusta coffee finished $20, or 1.2%, lower at $1,687 a tonne, extending its retreat from a 2-1/2 year high of $1,737 set on Friday. Dealers said the market was looking technically overbought after its recent strong advance.
Sucden Financial said in a note that it expected prices to soften in the near term with the failure to break through resistance at $1,737 potentially triggering a decline to $1,666. Dealers also noted most of the coffee areas in Brazil appeared to have been spared frost damage. Speculators increased a net long position in robusta coffee during the week of June 29 against the backdrop of concerns about the Brazilian frosts. September London cocoa settled 19 pounds, or 1.2%, higher at 1,627 pounds a tonne.
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