White sugar futures rise as Brazil frost damage assessed

LONDON: White sugar futures on ICE were higher on Monday as the market tried to assess the extent of damage to Brazilian cane from last week's frosts.

Raw sugar, arabica coffee and New York cocoa futures markets were closed on Monday due to a public holiday in the United States.

SUGAR

August white sugar rose by $3.30, or 0.7%, to $453.60 a tonne by 1108 GMT, edging back up towards a three-week high of $461.40 set on July 1.

"The frost could turn out to have caused severe damage (to Brazilian cane) but probably has not," broker Marex said in a weekly update on Monday.

Pakistan's state trading agency TCP has purchased 100,000 tonnes of white sugar in a tender for the same volume which closed last week, European traders said on Monday.

COFFEE

September robusta coffee fell by $24, or 1.4%, to $1,683 a tonne, extending its retreat from a 2-1/2 year high of $1,737 set on Friday.

Dealers said most of the coffee areas in Brazil appeared to have been spared frost damage.

They noted speculators had increased a net long position in robusta coffee the week of June 29 against the backdrop of concerns about the Brazilian frosts.

COCOA

September London cocoa rose by 10 pounds, or 0.6%, to 1,618 pounds a tonne.

Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 2.093 million tonnes between Oct. 1 and July 4, exporters estimated on Monday, up 5.2% from 1.989 million tonnes over the same period last season.