Dealers said recent weakness had led to an increasingly bearish outlook on technical indicators. "The (technical) indicators point to lower prices as they all show weakness," said Sucden Financial technical analyst Geordie Wilkes. "We anticipate prices will remain under pressure in the near term."
May robusta coffee was down $2, or 0.1 percent, at $1,768 a tonne. May raw sugar was up 0.04 cent, or 0.3 percent, at 13.33 cents per lb, boosted by some short-term supply tightness despite overall ample supplies.
"The market is still dealing with a heavy surplus. But the surplus seems to have been kicked down the 2018 road," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey. Dealers noted the March contract, which expires at the end of this month, continued to command a premium to May.
"The strength in the spread suggests limited availability for the upcoming March expiry," ING said in a market note. "Given the strength in domestic ethanol prices in Brazil, the early part of the 2018/19 crush is likely to be heavily ethanol focused, limiting sugar availability at the start of the crop," the bank added.
May white sugar rose $0.30, or 0.1 percent, to $358.20 a tonne. May London cocoa rose 6 pounds, or 0.4 percent, to 1,522 pounds a tonne after rising to a peak of 1,523 pounds, the highest for the second position since November 30.
Dealers said the market was underpinned by concerns that adverse weather in top producer Ivory Coast could diminish the outlook for the April to September mid-crop. May New York cocoa was up $5, or 0.2 percent, at$2,153 a tonne, edging up towards last week's three-month high of $2,157. Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) has banned Belgian trader Sopex from contracting with local cocoa exporters and processors for 10 years for failing to respect its commercial engagements, a CCC statement seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed.