LONDON: Raw sugar futures fell back to little-changed levels on Tuesday after equalling the previous session's seven-week peak, while front-month October trading in whites was at a deepening discount ahead of expiry on Friday.
SUGAR
* October raw sugar was unchanged at 11.20 cents per lb at 1350 GMT after matching Monday's seven-week high of 11.27 cents.
* Dealers said the market may need to consolidate in the short-term after its recent rally from a 10-year low of 9.91 cents on Aug. 22.
* "The sugar market has continued the most convincing rally it has seen for some time," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey.
* Dealers said the market's improved performance could encourage speculators to scale back a record net short position, which would give the rally added momentum.
* The market has been supported partly by the prospect of a drop in production in the European Union.
* Heatwaves and drought in France this summer are expected to lead to a sharp drop in sugar beet production, the farm ministry said.
* October white sugar was down $0.50, or 0.15 percent, at $329 a tonne.
* Dealers noted that October had moved to a discount of about $8.50 to December <LSU-1=R> ahead of its expiry on Friday, up from about $5 the previous day, suggesting a lack of appetite to take delivery.
* "The lack of enthusiasm for the (October) seems to be in stark contrast to the short-term mood of the market which continues its modest rise and upside retracement," said Thomas Kujawa, co-head of the softs department at Sucden Financial.
COCOA
* December New York cocoa was off $26, or 1.1 percent, at $2,274 a tonne.
* Dealers said the market remained choppy but without a clear overall trend.
* They noted the outlook for 2018/19 main crops in West Africa remained generally favourable, though there were some concerns about disease after recent rains.
* Above-average rainfall across Ivory Coast's cocoa regions last week could affect the health of the October-to-March main crop, farmers said on Monday, only days before harvests are expected to begin.
* December London cocoa fell 9 pounds, or 0.6 percent, to 1,642 pounds a tonne, with the market underpinned by the weakness of sterling.
COFFEE
* December arabica coffee was off by 0.05 cents, or 0.05 percent, at $1.0120 per lb.
* Dealers said the market continued to hold just above last week's 12-year low of 98.65 cents, with supplies ample after a record crop in Brazil this year.
* November robusta coffee rose $7, or 0.5 percent, to $1,484 a tonne.
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