London white sugar futures closed mostly higher on Tuesday with the market consolidating after its recent fall to a 13-month low, dealers said. March finished up $1.80 a tonne at $327.80 after trading in a range of $323.20 to $329.00. The front month fell to a 13-month low of $322.50 on Friday.
Total volume was 6,276 lots. Dealers said there had been a modest pick-up in physical buying interest after the recent decline in prices, noting news that Sudan had bought 50,000 tonnes of whites on Tuesday from a London trade house for January through April shipment.
There was also talk that Iraq was looking for about 300,000 tonnes of whites for nearby shipment but struggling to secure supplies, dealers said. Euronext.liffe on Tuesday announced it will launch raw sugar futures and options on its electronic trading platform next month, setting up a three-way fight for liquidity with US giants NYBOT and NYMEX.
COFFEE ENDS HIGHER: London robusta coffee finished stronger on light industry buying on Tuesday, dealers said. Benchmark March finished up $14 to close at $1,560 a tonne after trading in a range of $1,544-1,565.
Total traded volume was light at 7,622 lots. "New York's been range-bound all day, so we haven't been moving much in either direction," one trader said. January, which rose $2 to $1,571, continued to trade at an $11 premium to March.
COCOA LOWER: London cocoa futures traded down in London on Tuesday on light speculative selling, dealers said. March settled at 875 pounds per tonne, down 10 pounds from Monday, after trading in a range of 871 to 885 pounds.
Total volume across contracts was 11,900 lots, and traders reported healthy volume in March spread trade. May was down 9 pounds at 892 pounds. Ivory Coast's October-March main cocoa crop was forecast at 930,000 tonnes, below last year's figure of 966,686 tonnes, the West African country's Coffee and Cocoa Bourse said on Tuesday.