LONDON: White sugar futures on ICE edged higher on Monday, boosted by the prospect that export curbs in India could tighten supplies towards the end of this year, while robusta coffee prices eased.

New York-based raw sugar, arabica coffee and cocoa contracts were closed on Monday due to a US public holiday.

SUGAR

August white sugar ended 0.7% higher at $565.40 a tonne.

Dealers said India’s plans to cap sugar exports in the 2022/23 season, and sentiment that the government may be slow to allow sugar to leave the country, could help to tighten supplies towards the end of this year and early next year.

“This could leave a hole in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023,” broker Marex said in a note, adding it could lead to an increase in the amount of cane used to produce sugar in Brazil.

China imported 260,000 tonnes of sugar in May, up 42.7% from the same month last year, according to data released on Saturday by the General Administration of Customs.

ICE white sugar speculators cut a net long position by 1,566 lots to 26,436 lots in the week to June 14, exchange data showed on Friday.

COFFEE

September robusta coffee fell 0.1% to end at $2,077 a tonne.

Dealers said price charts were beginning to look more bearish after Friday’s weak performance.

“We anticipate prices to remain on the back foot in the near term,” Sucden Financial said in a note.

COCOA

September London cocoa rose 0.4% to finish at 1,753 pounds ($2,146.02) per tonne as the market pulled further away from a three-month low of 1,705 pounds set on Thursday.

Heavy rain last week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions will boost the development of the next October-to-March main crop, farmers said on Monday.