LONDON: Raw sugar futures climbed to a 5-1/2 month high on Friday, boosted by further fund short-covering, while coffee and cocoa prices eased.
SUGAR
March raw sugar was up 0.1 percent at 15.28 cents per lb by 1227 GMT, having earlier touched a 5-1/2 month high for the front month at 15.33 cents.
Dealers said the market continued to be supported by funds scaling back short positions, though the pace of the advance was slowed by producer selling.
"Investor buybacks of their hefty short position are supporting the market," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said in a market note.
The market has also derived support from a switch to using more cane to produce ethanol rather than sugar in Brazil, which could reduce the size of an anticipated global surplus in the 2017/18 season.
March white sugar rose by $0.40, or 0.1 percent, to $394.30 a tonne.
COCOA
March New York cocoa was off $17, or 0.8 percent, at $2,123 a tonne, retreating further from last week's 10-month high of $2,226
March London cocoa fell by 12 pounds, or 0.7 percent, to 1,606 pounds a tonne.
"The (technical) indicators are starting to soften, favouring the downside," said Sucden Financial technical analyst Geordie Wilkes, adding that a breach of firm support at 1,600 pounds could see prices drop towards the 40-day moving average around 1,586 pounds.
COFFEE
January robusta coffee was off $23, or 1.25 percent, at $1,822 a tonne.
Dealers said favourable weather during the harvest in top robusta producer Vietnam was helping to keep the market on the defensive.
March arabica coffee fell by 1.2 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $1.2895 per lb.
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