Liffe March white sugar ends $11.60 lower at $773.80 a tonne on Friday. The contract, which expired at the end of the session, is expected to attract a modest delivery, possibly below 120,000 tonnes. Liffe May cocoa ends 23 pounds higher at 2,199 pounds a tonne. Market supported partly by the weakness of sterling.
Liffe May robusta coffee ends $4 lower at $2,255 a tonne, dragged lower by setback in the ICE arabica market. Coffee prices have rallied sharply since mid-2010, underpinned by tight supplies of high-quality washed arabica beans, attracting heavy fund buying. Analysts do not expect the rally to reverse any time soon, as Colombia, the top producer of washed arabicas, is entering its third straight year of below-average harvest and Brazil is in an off-year in its crop cycle.
Brenda Sullivan, technical analyst at Sucden in London, said $2.88 a lb was a long-term target for arabicas. "I think there may be potential, an opportunity to take a little bit of profit out of this market, just knowing that all longs need to be firmed up by the time first notice day takes," said Brian Booth, senior market strategist at MF Global Ltd.'s Lind-Waldock division in Chicago, said of arabica coffee.
A close above 33 cents would suggest a further uptrend, while a settlement below 30 cents would point to a reversal, Sucden Financial analyst Thomas Kujawa said in a note. "We failed at 33 cents yesterday and the bears are suggesting the top is in the market," he said. Cordier said sugar enjoys substantial support near 30 cents, but a move to 34-35 cents attracts producer pressure.
Alex Oliveira, sugar analyst at Newedge USA, said there is sizeable trade buying underneath futures which could bolster the market going forward. Cocoa futures are seen staying firm as investors pondered whether presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara would extend his January 23 call for a month-long export ban in Ivory Coast to further starve funds from his rival, Laurent Gbagbo.
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