LONDON: White sugar futures on ICE rose on Monday, boosted by light buying partly fuelled by signs of lower output from India, while London cocoa and robusta coffee were little changed.
US soft commodity markets were closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday and will reopen on Tuesday.
SUGAR
March white sugar was up by $1.80, or 0.5 percent, at $355 a tonne by 1212 GMT, after climbing to a session high of $355.40 a tonne.
Prices hovered close to last week's peak of $355.80 a tonne, their highest in nearly two and a half months.
Dealers pointed to light speculative buying on Monday, partly inspired by signs that unfavourable weather may dent production in India, the world's biggest consumer of sugar.
Sugar output in India is expected to fall 2.5 percent to 30.7 million tonnes in the season that began in October.
"In late summer last year, many observers had been predicting a new record production of up to 35 million tons," Commerzbank said in a note. "In the meantime, dry conditions and crop diseases have given rise to a more sober appraisal."
However, high stocks mean India remains well supplied and the country is likely to continue exporting to the world market, dealers said.
Market participants were also closely monitoring weather in Brazil amid forecasts for continued dry condition in the key cane producing region.
COCOA
May London cocoa was unchanged at 1,690 pounds a tonne, consolidating after slipping in the prior session.
Fourth-quarter 2018 grindings data from Europe and North America last week signalled slower year-on-year growth than expected.
Warehouse deliveries of cocoa from Brazil's main growing regions and from imports were up 16 percent from May 1 to January 13 compared with the same period a year earlier, Bahia Commercial Association data showed.
COFFEE
March robusta coffee was up $2, or 0.1 percent, at $1,546 a tonne.
Dealers said buying appetite was lacklustre, as roasters remained well covered and reluctant to take on more supplies.
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