London cocoa at 2016 peak, robusta coffee vaults

London cocoa futures on ICE rose to the highest since 2016 on Tuesday, buoyed by the weak British pound, while robusta coffee surged more than 3 percent within one minute to a 5-1/2-month high after a flurry of automatic buy orders were triggered. July London cocoa settled up 38 pounds, or 2 percent, at 1,943 pounds per tonne, having hit 1,949 pounds, its highest since December 2016.
Prices were partly boosted by a decline in the British pound. July New York cocoa settled up $69, or 2.4 percent, at $2,894 per tonne. This is near last week's peak at $2,943, the highest since August 2016.
Trend-following speculators pushed prices higher as the benchmark contracts held technically overbought levels after forecasts for a global surplus waned, traders said.
July robusta coffee settled up $59, or 3.4 percent, at $1,815 per tonne.
It rose 3.5 percent to the highest since November 2017 at $1,845 from $1,782 within 60 seconds in late-day trading that attracted a quarter of the entire session's volume.
The rally, which traders said triggered buy-stops, surprised them as they said there was no fundamental reason for such a move.
July arabica coffee settled up 2 cent, or 1.6 percent, at $1.248 per lb, a 2-1/2-month high.
Arabica prices were lifted by short-covering, trader said.
July raw sugar settled down 0.06 cent, or 0.5 percent, at 11.69 cents per lb.
Prices were pressured by the large delivery of more than 1 million tonnes against May futures, which expired on Monday. It was viewed as bearish because traders said Wilmar International, which typically buys exchange sugar, sold more than half of it, likely indicating weak demand.
Dealers said the market's recent fragile recovery was undermined by a sharp decline in the Brazilian real on Monday.
A weaker Brazilian currency encourages producer selling by improving returns in local currency terms.
August white sugar settled down $5.40, or 1.6 percent, at $325.40 per tonne.
Prices have in recent sessions climbed off 2008 lows touched last week, but dealers said the recovery had lost momentum as the market corrected and buying petered out.
Sentiment was also dampened by worries India may soon move forward with exports to the world market, dealers said.
"If they don't export soon, the whole country will get completely buried under stocks," said one dealer.