Raw sugar lifted by short-covering, arabica coffee up

Raw sugar futures climbed on Monday, partly boosted by short-covering after data showed speculators had sold the commodity more aggressively than expected, while arabica coffee and New York cocoa rose in step with broader commodity markets. March raw sugar was up 0.19 cent, or 1.4 percent, at 13.85 cents per lb by 1425 GMT, after hitting 13.96 cents.
The market was lifted by short-covering, dealers said, after exchange data showed speculators had switched to a net short position in the week to December 12. "The COT (commitments of traders) report has ... raised further questions as to how much additional spec selling can really be expected, or at least at the sort of pace seen in the last week or so," Agrilion Commodity Advisers said in a market note.
Dealers noted the heavy speculative selling had left the market vulnerable to a technical short-covering rally.
"If we can break some technical numbers here we could see them all suddenly forced to stampede out of the exit gate," one dealer said. A weaker US dollar and strength in broader commodities, led by energy markets, also lent support.
March white sugar was up $3.90, or 1.1 percent, at $364.40 a tonne. A surge in EU sugar production this year after the scrapping of output quotas will tail off in the coming decade as the market faces lower prices, consumer health concerns and competition from rival sweetener isoglucose, the EU's executive said.
March arabica coffee was up 1.90 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $1.2265 per lb. Exchange data on Friday showed speculators hiked their bearish bets in arabica coffee to a record.
Prices were also boosted by strength in the Brazilian real, which makes it less attractive for producers to sell by dampening returns in local currency terms. March robusta coffee fell $2, or 0.1 percent, to $1,729 a tonne.
US green coffee stocks fell by nearly 300,000 bags in November, the biggest monthly drop in three years that took inventories to the lowest since March, Green Coffee Association (GCA) data showed on Friday. March New York cocoa rose $32, or 1.7 percent, to$1,909 a tonne, also boosted by the dollar and commodity market strength.
Light rain and mild Harmattan winds in top cocoa grower Ivory Coast last week bode well for the final stage of the main crop harvest, farmers said on Monday. March London cocoa was up 10 pounds, or 0.7 percent, at 1,417 pounds a tonne.