Print Print edition: 2011-01-07

Liffe sugar and cocoa lower

Published Updated

Liffe March white sugar ends $27.70 at $748.20 per tonne. Market weighed partly by a stronger dollar and weaker crude oil prices. Liffe May cocoa ends 9 pounds lower at 1,933 pounds a tonne. Market hovering just above the prior session's three-week low. Prices under pressure with the recent run-up driven by political tensions in Ivory Coast seen overdone.
Liffe January robusta coffee ends $24 higher at $2,029 per tonne, boosted by sharp gains in ICE arabicas.
Earlier in the day coffee futures prices rose, with arabicas less than 10 cents away from a fresh 13-1/2 year peak, as the market remained underpinned by a shortage of high quality washed arabica beans.
Cocoa futures edged up, supported by a risk premium stemming from the disputed election in the world's top producer, Ivory Coast, on Nov. 28, while sugar fell further from last month's 30-year high, with the downside limited by tight supplies.
London March robustas were up $27 or 1.4 percent at $2,032 per tonne in slim volume of 4,316 lots.
Cocoa futures edged higher in light volumes as dealers said exports continued apace from top producer Ivory Coast, where the disputed presidential vote has sparked fears of disruption to supplies.
London second-month cocoa was up 6 pounds or 0.3 percent to 1,948 pounds per tonne in thin volume of 1,159 lots.
London March white sugar was down $17.40 or 2.2 percent at $758.50 per tonne in light turnover of 1,549 lots. The sugar market is supported by tight global availability and low inventories after adverse weather eroded output in several key producing countries.