ICE sugar nudges close to eight-month high, robusta falls

ICE raw sugar futures nudged close to an eight-month high on Monday, supported by Commitments of Trade (COT) data showing a smaller-than-expected increase in the net long position, while robusta coffee fell after first notice-day tender data. Cocoa hovered near one-month highs, underpinned by concerns over the potential impact of dry weather earlier in the growing season in leading producers Ivory Coast and Ghana.
ICE raw sugar futures were up 0.23 cent, or 1.6 percent, at 14.75 cents a pound by 1505 GMT, after firming to 14.79 cents, just shy of Wednesday's eight-month peak of 14.80 cents. "The market is moving up in reaction to the COT data, which showed a long position that was not as big as expected. There is a lack of selling," said ABN Amro's head of sugar brokerage James Kirkup, while another senior London-based broker said: "The funds have more ammunition (to buy)."
December white sugar futures were up $7.90, or 2.0 percent, at $399.30 per tonne. Robusta coffee fell sharply, pressured by an ample new harvest in top grower Vietnam, after November contract first-notice day data revealed a lack of appetite to deliver supplies to the ICE exchange.
A modest 400 tonnes of Vietnamese robusta coffee was tendered on the ICE November robusta contract's first notice day, exchange data showed. Holders of robusta coffee would get a lower price delivering coffee to the exchange than by selling it at high differentials of $70 to $100 a tonne over nearby futures, traders said. The November/January spread surged to a discount of about $40 a tonne over the past few days, pressured by ample prompt availability of robusta supplies. January robusta coffee traded down $19, or 1.2 percent, at $1,624 per tonne.
December arabica coffee was down 1.85 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $1.1910 per lb on light technically driven dealings. New York cocoa futures hovered near a one-month high, with December/March spreading buoying volumes. New York December cocoa was up $7, or 0.2 percent, at $3,266 per tonne, after touching a one-month high of $3,270 per tonne. London March cocoa traded down 4 pounds, or 0.2 percent, at 2,188 pounds a tonne, having risen on Friday to 2,199 pounds, the highest since September 29.