LONDON: London cocoa futures rose on Tuesday, boosted by the weakness of sterling and technically-driven buying, while sugar and coffee prices were little changed.
COCOA
May London cocoa was up 18 pounds, or 1.1 percent, at 1,657 pounds a tonne at 1257 GMT.
Dealers noted further short covering as the market extended its rebound from a seven-week low of 1,585 pounds hit last week.
The British pound fell on Tuesday after a survey showed firms in the dominant services sector reporting job cuts for the first time in six years, while uncertainty over the progress of Brexit negotiations also weighed on the currency.
Crop conditions in top producer Ivory Coast, however, remained generally favourable which could help the limit the potential recovery in prices. Cocoa had been one of the weakest performing commodities in January.
Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast are also running ahead of last season's pace.
"The cocoa price is caught between high production and strong demand," Commerzbank said in a market note.
"In view of the surprisingly high level of deliveries, we are no longer as optimistic about price developments as we were last autumn."
May New York cocoa fell a marginal $1, or 0.04 percent, to $2,262 a tonne.
SUGAR
March raw sugar was up 0.02 cent, or 0.2 percent, at 12.87 cents a lb.
Dealers said the market remained within its recent trading band despite a sharp run-up on Monday.
They noted the discount for the front month March had been largely erased, indicating a potential tightening in supplies for nearby shipment.
"The market seems to have kicked the surplus can out of the first quarter of 2019," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said.
March white sugar rose by $0.30, or 0.1 percent, to $340.30 a tonne.
COFFEE
March robusta coffee was unchanged at $1,556 a tonne as trade in the physical market was slowed by the Tet Lunar New Year holiday in top robusta producer Vietnam.
March arabica coffee rose 0.2 cent, or 0.2 percent, at $1.0580 per lb.
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