Liffe July cocoa closed 27 pounds higher at 1,937 pounds a tonne on Tuesday, as dealers awaited further information on when exports might resume from top producer Ivory Coast. Liffe May white sugar fell $4.90 to close at $698.30 a tonne, as dealers focused on the progress of harvesting in the centre-south of Brazil, and a larger than expected Thai crop.
Liffe July robusta coffee ended unchanged at $2,426 a tonne. Bearish technicals weighed. Dealers expected a speedy resumption of exports from Ivory Coast after more than four months of a stand-off that descended into all-out conflict. Ivory Coast accounts for about 40 percent of world supplies.
"The first ships are heading for Ivory Coast again after the EU last week lifted sanctions imposed on major loading ports Abidjan and San Pedro," Commerzbank said in a daily report. Cocoa industry groups welcomed the call for peace and said they hoped for a swift resumption of trade.
A Cargill spokeswoman said: "We are seeking clarification from the Ivorian authorities about the process for resuming exports and a key element of this process is for the local banking system to restart." Arabica and robusta coffee futures were mixed as bearish technicals, based on historical price charts, weighed on prices. Goldman's bearish view on crude "contributed to today's bearishness" in the softs commodity complex, said Sterling Smith, senior analyst at brokerage Country Hedging Inc in Minnesota.