US MIDDAY: sugar at 30-year peak

Raw sugar futures surged Tuesday to a 30-year high on trade and speculative buying, but dealings were thin as most players were away until after the New Year, analysts said. Soft commodity markets in London were shut for the Christmas holiday and will reopen for business on Wednesday.
New York's March raw sugar contract hit a new contract and 30-year peak at 33.64 cents per lb and was trading 0.62 cent up at 34.26 cents at 9:50 am EST (1450 GMT). The key March cocoa contract in New York climbed $28 to trade at $3,680 per tonne at 10:00 am The March arabica coffee contract on ICE Futures US was trading flat at $2.3745 per lb at 10:02 am.