ICE raw sugar futures fell rapidly on Friday before quickly regaining some ground with investor liquidation triggering automatic sell orders in choppy trading ahead of the long holiday weekend. Cocoa futures were slightly higher while arabica coffee suffered a mild setback after climbing to the highest levels in more than 13 years earlier in the week.
March raw sugar futures on ICE slid to a low of 30.35 cents a lb, raising the prospect of a test of key support around the 30-cent level, before rebounding to 31.32 cents, still down 0.74 cents or 2.3 percent on the day. ICE March cocoa traded $43 or 1.5 percent higher at $2,985 a tonne. ICE March arabicas fell 2.55 cents or 1.1 percent to $2.3495 per lb. The front month contract had risen to the highest level since June 1997 on Wednesday.