New York cocoa futures on ICE turned higher on Friday after chart-inspired speculative buying helped the market shed earlier losses, while raw sugar eased and robusta coffee touched a fresh 2-1/2 month low. September New York cocoa was up $55, or 2.3 percent, at $2,488 a tonne by 1335 GMT, extending gains from the prior session.
Prices were pressured down to $2,393 in earlier trade, with dealers pointing to speculative long liquidation, coupled with waning buying interest from cocoa processors. However, sentiment shifted after the market managed to break above key technical levels around $2,430, spurring fresh speculative buying.
The July contract remained at a premium to the September position on Friday, although the spread narrowed after peaking at $37 in the prior session. September London cocoa rose 28 pounds, or 1.6 percent, to 1,779 pounds a tonne, while the spot contract rallied more than 3 percent.
July raw sugar was down 0.02 cent, or 0.2 percent, at 12.21 cents per lb, having earlier slumped to a session low of 12.01 cents. August white sugar was down $1.90, or 0.6 percent, at $345.60 a tonne.
Prices fell sharply in the prior session, when a weakening in the euro inspired a bout of selling by EU producers, dealers said. September robusta coffee fell $13, or 0.8 percent, to $1,688 a tonne, after touching $1,683, the weakest for the second position since late March.
Prices have been under pressure recently from a mix of speculative and producer hedging. September arabica coffee fell 0.85 cent, or 0.7 percent, to $1.1710 per lb.