Cocoa futures pared earlier gains and closed up a shade in heavy volume on Monday, as many waited out the latest assault by presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara to remove Laurent Gbagbo in top grower Ivory Coast, which underpinned the market.Sugar futures rose on investor buying supported by other commodity markets, and coffee fell on investor liquidation, bringing the premium of the robusta's spot contract down more than 80 percent from last month's peak.
Strong support at $2,900-$2,925 per tonne, basis May, kept the market firm after falling nearly 23 percent from the March 4 32-year high at $3,775. ICE May cocoa futures closed up $9 at $3,020 per tonne. Raw sugar futures on ICE rose, tracking gains in other commodity markets, such as metals, and dealers saw key resistance at 28.20 cents a lb.
ICE May raw sugar futures climbed 0.56 cent to settle at 28 cents per lb. ICE arabica and robusta coffee fell on investor liquidation in modest volumes. In robustas the May premium over July collapsed to around $30, after trading as wide as around $200 intraday last month, as selling pressure weighed. ICE May arabica coffee finished down 3.85 cents or 1.5 percent at $2.5605 per lb, the lowest settlement since February 14.
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