Raw sugar extends gains above 1-year low, robusta dips

Raw sugar futures on ICE rose for the third straight session on Wednesday, as chart-based support boosted buyers' appetite though prices remained within sight of one-year lows, while robusta coffee was pressured by ample nearby supplies.
July raw sugar settled up 0.4 cent, or 2.6 percent, at 15.84 cents per lb, as last month's one-year low of 15.12 cents became a support level, traders said.
However, gains were seen as fragile and dealers said the ethanol parity level of 15 cents did not provide a firm floor against further speculative selling.
"It will take time for millers in CS Brazil to change course and produce more ethanol and further fund selling on a stop basis or new shorts could cause an overshoot," said Nick Penney, senior trader at Sucden Financial.
The global sugar deficit that sent prices soaring last year is expected to fade away in the upcoming crop year, though expectations of whether a surplus emerges remain mixed, said industry experts during New York "Sugar Week".
Datagro forecast a deficit of 200,000 tonnes and Sucden estimated a surplus of 3 million tonnes in 2017/18.
August white sugar settled up $8, or 1.8 percent, at $453.50 per tonne.
July robusta coffee settled down $6, or 0.3 percent, at $2,014 per tonne.
"I think most people feel that the nearby requirements have been met," one dealer said.
Participants shrugged off news that Brazil authorised the import of Vietnamese robusta that then has to be exported as soluble coffee, noting that the light volume of 5,893 bags was "irrelevant".
Soluble coffee companies, which have been squeezed by a domestic shortage, cannot import more than 500,000 bags.
Dealers said this could pave the way for further imports later in the year, however.
July arabica coffee settled up 1.5 cent, or 1.1 percent, at $1.3665 per lb.
July New York cocoa settled down $6, or 0.3 percent, at $1,954 per tonne, quietly retreating further from the previous session's one-month high.
This followed a four-day rally spurred by short-covering, which had run out of steam, traders said.
July London cocoa closed flat at 1,529 pounds a tonne.