March white sugar ended $11.60 higher at $749.60 a tonne. Market supported by a pick-up in physical demand after last week's sharp setback in prices and a weaker dollar.
May cocoa on Liffe ended 4 pounds lower at 2,210 pounds a tonne. Market holding around the middle of its recent trading band, underpinned by a slowdown in port arrivals in top producer Ivory Coast. May robusta coffee finished $1 higher at $1,331 per tonne, hovering just above a contract low of $1,310 set on Monday. Ample supplies keeping the market on the defensive.
Earlier, raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Tuesday, boosted by a weaker dollar and a pick-up in physical demand following last week's sharp setback in prices, Arabica coffee futures on ICE eased as bearish charts sparked sales while cocoa futures showed mixed trends.
Dealers said a sharp setback in raw sugar prices last week, when the market fell more than 15 percent from after setting a 29-year peak, had stirred demand from importers. Indian buyers booked 180,000 tonnes of physical raw sugar for March and July shipment when futures fell on Friday February 5, senior trade sources said on Tuesday.
"The picture is still fundamentally very, very tight. Any dips which we see now should be seen as massive buying opportunities," said Macquarie Bank commodity strategist Kona Haque, adding a weaker dollar also helped to fuel buying. The rapid decline last week was prompted partly by broad-based losses in commodity markets as investors become more risk averse due to concerns about European sovereign debt. "I think it (sugar) wants to have another push higher but I see a bit of range over the next few days. It has done a lot of work (regaining lost ground) and needs to settle down for a day or so," one dealer said.