NEW YORK/LONDON: Refined sugar futures retreated on Thursday after a day of volatile, expiry-driven trade, as ICE cocoa dropped to more than one-month lows on worries about weak demand and ample supplies and coffee also fell.
Sugar, coffee and cocoa markets on ICE Futures US would be closed for the Good Friday holiday and would reopen at regular times on Monday.
SUGAR
May white sugar finished down $1.40, or 0.3 percent, at $478.30 a tonne on its last day of trade after surging over 2 percent. ICE August white sugar  settled down $2.30, or 0.49 percent, at $470.30 per tonne.
ED& F Man scooped up 137,500 tonnes of sugar against the contract. That was in line with trader expectations of a delivery of 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes.
May raw sugar settled down 0.1 cent, or 0.60 percent, at 16.6 cents per lb, retreating after meeting technical resistance near the session high of 17.16 cents.
"Everyone knows the situation with the oversupply in sugar but for the moment I think we've hit a bit of a soft bottom," said one dealer. "I think people are a bit scared to commit too much on the short side."
The market was also monitoring weather risk. A US government agency sees chances of an El Ni?o developing in the second half of 2017.
Egypt will impose a sugar export tariff of 3,000 Egyptian pounds ($165.47) per tonne starting on Friday, the state's official gazette said.
COCOA
July London settled down 41 pounds, or 2.59 percent, at 1,544 pounds per tonne after touching 1,537 pounds, a contract low and the weakest for the second-month since March 9.
July New York cocoa also fell, finishing down $52, or 2.64 percent, at $1,915 per tonne after touching an over one-month low of $1,912.
Weak confectionary demand figures published on Wednesday signalled declining cocoa prices had not yet translated into higher consumption.
Worries about ample supplies also weighed.
COFFEE
ICE July arabica coffee settled up 0.65 cent, or 0.46 percent, at $1.4125 per lb.
Dealers said trade was largely range-bound on Thursday, with good buying appetite around $1.38-$1.40. However, selling pressure could re-emerge around $1.43, they said.
May robusta closed down $12, or 0.56 percent, at $2,145 per tonne.
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