Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on Monday amid worries over supply prospects in top producers Brazil and India, and as sentiment in the wider financial markets improved thanks to Chinese cities easing some COVID-related restrictions.
SUGAR
* March raw sugar SBc1 settled up 0.07 cent, or 0.4%, at 19.55 cents per lb.
* The contract hit a two-week high earlier, but gains were later capped by a rising dollar and falling oil prices.O/R
* Dealers cited news that sugar output in India, the world's second largest exporter after Brazil, is likely to fall 7% this season as erratic weather conditions have cut cane yields.
* They also noted that India might have just 1 million tonnes of sugar exports left under the current quota.
* The Thai sugar harvest has meanwhile been delayed, dealers said, while prolonged rains in Brazil are expected to have hurt cane harvest progress.
* ICE raw sugar speculators cut their net long position by 6,424 contracts to 115,079 in the week to Nov. 29, data showed.
* March white sugar LSUc1 rose $6.20, or 1.2%, at $539.10 a tonne.
COFFEE
* March arabica coffee KCc2 was flat at $1.6260 per lb, after rising earlier.
* The dollar rose against the pound and the yen on Monday after data showed that U.S. services industry activity unexpectedly picked up in November.
* ICE arabica coffee speculators trimmed their net short position by 1,893 contracts to 22,559 in the week to Nov. 29, data showed.
* "Production and export expectations in Brazil have been downgraded following a negative postflowering evolution," said Fitch Solutions in a note.
* January robusta coffee LRCc1 rose $11, or 0.6%, at $1,899 a tonne.
COCOA
* March New York cocoa CCc2 settled down $57, or 2.2%, to $2,479 a tonne.
* Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 838,000 tonnes between the season start on Oct. 1 to Dec. 4, up 6.1% from a year ago, exporters estimated.
* ICE New York cocoa speculators increased their net short position by 5,103 contracts to 14,149 in the week to Nov. 29, data showed.
* March London cocoa LCCc2 fell 22 pounds, or 1.1%, to 1,949 pounds per tonne.