White sugar futures on ICE
rallied on Tuesday on fears over tight supplies before a
contract expiry later this month, while robusta coffee steadied
near a one-year high, underpinned by strong physical demand.
    London coocoa was supported by a weaker pound in the fallout
of Britain's vote to leave the EU.
    White sugar futures jumped on concerns over tight supplies
before the August contract expiry on July 15.
    "The trade shorts are on the run as they finally wake up to
the fact there won't be any significant deliverable supplies
against the August expiry," a senior trade source said. "Watch
the August fly!"
    August white sugar was up $14.30, or 2.5 percent, at
$579.20 per tonne at 1121 GMT, after surging to a contract high
at $581.20.
    October raw sugar futures were up 0.13 cent, or 0.6
percent, at 20.91 cents a lb.
    On Thursday the most-active contract hit a more than
3-1/2-year high of 21.22 cents a lb, buoyed by a shift of the
global market into deficit after years of surpluses.
    Robusta coffee futures held steady near a one-year high,
supported by strong physical demand.
    Dealers said there was a wide arbitrage between arabica and
robusta futures prices, boosting the appeal of robusta buying.
    They noted a premium of 65-66 cents a lb of September
arabica futures over September robusta, compared
with a premium of 48 cents a lb in mid-June. 
    "That creates tremendous encouragement to buy robustas," a
senior coffee trader said.
    Arabica futures dipped, but were underpinned by concerns
over the quality of beans in Brazil's current harvest after
heavy rainfall.
    ICE September arabica futures were down 0.6 cent, or
0.4 percent, to $1.4580 per lb.
    September robusta coffee was down $2, or 0.1
percent, at $1,766 per tonne, having touched a one-year high of
$1,773 on Monday.
    London cocoa futures edged up, supported by the weak pound,
which hit a fresh 31-year low against the dollar, as investors
worried about the economic and financial implications of 
Brexit.
    London September cocoa was up 26 pounds, or 1.1
percent, at 2,412 pounds per tonne, after touching a contract
high of 2,414 pounds.
    September New York cocoa was up $23, or 0.8 percent,
at $3,018 per tonne.