LONDON: White sugar futures on ICE edged higher on Thursday, as light buying lifted prices from 2-1/2 year lows touched a day earlier, while cocoa also rose.
SUGAR
August white sugar was up $1.70, or 0.5 percent, at $336.90 by 1400 GMT, pulling away from Wednesday’s low of $332.30, the weakest for the second position since August 2015.
Dealers noted light scale-down buying had emerged near the lows, which was lending support.
“The trading pattern still suggests the market is finding substantial pockets of buying at each new low,” said Tobin Gorey of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in a market note.
However, dealers said gains were limited as the market remained vulnerable to selling by producers, who remain under-hedged.
Focus also remained on ample global supplies from India and Thailand.
May white sugar, which expires on Friday, rose $3.60, or 1 percent, to $349.80 per tonne.
The front-month premium over August widened to more than $12, with dealers noting this signalled sellers were hesitant to deliver at current prices.
May raw sugar rose 0.03, or 0.3 percent, to 12.09 cents per lb, after also touching a 2-1/2 year low on Wednesday.
COCOA
July New York cocoa climbed $5, or 0.2 percent, to$2,585 a tonne.
July London cocoa also rose 2 pounds, or 0.1 percent, to 1,775 pounds a tonne.
Dealers pointed to light-volume buying by speculators inspired by a positive close in the prior session.
They also noted a scarcity of high-quality Ivorian beans continued to lend support to nearby prices, with physical differentials strengthening further recently.
One dealer pegged the premium for quality Ivorian beans at about 100 pounds above the May contract, compared to a typical spread of 70 pounds.
“It’s not a matter of volume here, it’s a matter of quality,” said one dealer. “There’s a lack of good quality cocoa from the Ivory Coast.”
Market participants were awaiting first-quarter grind data from Europe and North America, due out next week, for signs of demand.
Dealers forecast European figures rising 2 to 4 percent. North American grindings were seen little changed, with forecasts ranging between a slight decline to modest growth of up to 2 percent.
COFFEE
May robusta coffee was down $6, or 0.4 percent, at $1,728 a tonne.
May arabica coffee slipped 0.25 cent or 0.2 percent to $1.179 per lb.
Source: Brecorder
