Raw sugar futures climbed on Monday for the fifth day running as tight stocks and fears that excess rains may crimp exports by No 2 producer India propelled the market in light trade. Coffee and cocoa futures dipped, with a tense mood after polls in top cocoa grower Ivory Coast having little market impact.
New York's March raw sugar contract added 0.10 cent to end at 28.35 cents per lb on volume of around 65,700 lots, 40 percent below the 30-day average. Analysts spoke of tight export availability from top producers Brazil and India. Cocoa markets reversed earlier gains to take in their stride the tense atmosphere in Ivory Coast.
The key March cocoa contract fell $39 to finish at $2,755 per tonne. The New York cocoa market traded thinly. Volume totalled below 7,000 lots, down roughly 60 percent from the 30-day average, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data. New York's March arabica coffee contract slipped 0.05 cent to close at $2.0265 per lb.