NEW YORK/LONDON: Cocoa futures on ICE rose on Monday, with the New York contract touching six-week highs on support from a weaker US dollar and concerns over potentially damaging weather in West Africa, while sugar and coffee also rose.
New York-based raw sugar, arabica coffee, and cocoa will be closed on Tuesday for the public holiday.
London-based white sugar, robusta coffee and cocoa had an abbreviated session on Monday and will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
COCOA
* March New York cocoa settled up $44, or 1.9 percent, at $2,315 per tonne, after trading as high as $2,345, the highest since Nov. 8.
* Prices were supported by a weaker US dollar, dealers said. Concerns about potential dry, damaging weather in top-grower Ivory Coast also supported, dealers said.
* Speculators scaled back their net short position in New York cocoa to its smallest since late September, US government data showed on Friday.
* Ivorian farmers said more rain was needed to sustain the October-to-March main cocoa crop, as dry Harmattan winds descended further into the country last week.
* March London cocoa closed 22 pounds, or 1.3 percent, higher at 1,704 pounds a tonne.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar settled up 0.06 cent, or 0.5 percent, at 12.40 cents per lb, trading in light volumes.
* The contract erased Friday's losses, when prices fell to 12.23 cents, a more than 2-1/2 month low.
* Monday's positive finish for raw sugar marked the first time in several sessions that it closed in a different direction to Brent crude.
* Sugar and oil have been moving in tandem recently, as lower energy prices diminish the competitiveness of ethanol in top grower Brazil, bolstering concerns that mills may switch more production from the biofuel back to sugar.
* Oil prices tumbled more than 4 percent to the lowest in over a year as global stock markets fell on concerns about a US government shutdown and worsening world economy.
* Cuban sugar production is expected to rise, after dropping last year, though it will still fall short of output levels from two years ago, an official said.
* March white sugar ended $0.10 higher at $337.70 a tonne.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee settled up 2.5 cent, or 2.5 percent, at $1.022 per lb. The contract dipped to a three-month low of 98.60 cents last week.
* The harvesting of a record-large crop in top producer Brazil this year could cap any rally in prices, dealers said.
* March robusta coffee closed $24, or 1.6 percent, higher at $1,515 a tonne.
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