* Coffee surges on technical signals, fund buying
* Main shipper of Ivorian cocoa Maersk halts exports
* Raw sugar could soon test 30-year highs - dealers
(Adds trade comment, updates prices)
By Anna Yukhananov and David Brough
LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Coffee on ICE soared to a new
13-1/2-year high on Friday after technical levels were breached,
while ICE raw sugar futures slipped from near 30-year peaks,
underpinned by tight supplies.
Cocoa on ICE fell from near its one-year top, which was hit
after a call for an export ban in top grower Ivory Coast ignited
concerns about global supply.
Arabica coffee futures jumped as high as 4 percent to
$2.4635 per lb, the highest level for the front month contract
since June 1997, after fund buying triggered automatic buy
orders, dealers said.
ICE March arabicas KCc1 traded up 6.95 cents or 2.9
percent at $2.4390 per lb at 1600 GMT. Liffe March robusta
coffee LRCH1 was up $41 or 2 percent at $2,131 per tonne.
"Coffee is a technical buy," said Jimmy Tintle, analyst with
Transworld Futures in Florida.
Arabica coffee has traded in a range since late December,
with prices supported by a bullish macroeconomic picture of
higher demand in emerging economies and a shortage of
high-quality washed arabica beans from key producer Colombia.
If March KCc1 closes at a new contract high, the market
will likely continue higher, with a target of around $2.60 to
$2.70, although it will only rally to these levels if the
commodity sector also moves higher, Tintle said.
Tight supplies of higher quality beans also pushed up
physical coffee prices in top grower Brazil and in Tanzania,
where top-grade coffee fetched an all-time high at this week's
auction, traders said on Friday. [ID:nN2865614] [ID:nLDE70R1S8]
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
See Reuters coffee poll [ID:nL3E7CL06K]
Take a Look on polls [ID:nLDE70O1JO]
Graphic on Reuters polls: r.reuters.com/gah77r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
SUGAR FLIRTS WITH 30-YR PEAK
Sugar eased in a technical correction after rallying on
Thursday after the European Union's executive said it would
approve extra sugar imports to curb an expected shortage.
The news sealed the biggest two-day rally since Oct. 8,
totalling 7.5 percent.
Dealers said that ICE front-month sugar SBc1 could
potentially soon test the 30-year high of 34.77 cents a lb,
touched on Dec. 29.
"We're within striking distance of moving the high bar
higher," said James Kirkup, head of sugar brokerage at ABN AMRO
Markets (UK) Ltd.
Dealers also noted that the executive commission of the
customs union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus may approve a
lower raw sugar import tariff at a meeting in February, though
some had expected an earlier decision. [ID:nLDE70R0FE]
"The market has priced in the duty cut coming forward,"
Kirkup said.
ICE March raw sugar SBc1 dipped 0.07 cent or 0.2 percent
at 34.11 cents a lb at 1600 GMT, having gone as high as 34.51
cents a lb, in sight of its 30-year high. London March white
sugar LSUH1 fell $5.00 or 0.6 percent to $819.50 per tonne.
The Philippines on Friday raised its raw sugar output
estimate for the current 2010-2011 crop year and said stocks of
the sweetener were more than enough to meet demand, allowing it
to delay or possibly scrap import plans. [ID:nSGE70R05L]
In cocoa, futures sagged in a technical correction after
rallying almost 20 percent over the past three weeks, bolstered
by a fierce political standoff in top producer Ivory Coast after
a Nov. 28 election, potentially threatening the supply pipeline.
"It's lower on technical considerations, and the structure's
easing a bit as well," said a London-based trader, adding that
there might be some profit-taking at month-end.
ICE May cocoa CCc2 dipped $55 or 1.7 percent to $3,284 a
tonne at 1600 GMT, while London May cocoa LCCK1 fell 24 pounds
or 1.1 percent to 2,156 pounds a tonne.
In line with European Union restrictions, Danish shipping
company Maersk, the main shipper of Ivorian beans to buyers in
the United States and Asia, has halted cocoa exports from Ivory
Coast and stopped taking new orders for imports to the country,
a company official said on Friday. [ID:nLDE70R1QA]
"As long as the political uncertainty remains, the market
will hold these levels," a commodities broker in London said.
"I don't foresee a collapse in prices in the near-term."
Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast were up 13 percent
from last year's levels as of Jan. 23, the period just before a
month-long export ban was declared, according to data obtained
by Reuters on Friday [ID:nLDE70R0F9]
* Prices as of 1623 GMT
Product Last Change Pct Move End 2010 Ytd Pct
ICE sugar 34.16 -0.02 -0.06 32.12 6.35
ICE coffee 245.60 6.95 +2.91 241.80 1.57
ICE cocoa 3291.00 -48.00 -1.44 3052.00 7.83
Liffe sugar 819.30 -5.20 -0.63 777.50 5.38
Liffe coffee 2125.00 35.00 +1.67 2097.00 1.34
Liffe cocoa 2156.00 -24.00 -1.10 2029.00 6.26
CRB index 334.68 3.29 +0.99 332.80 0.56
Crude oil 88.03 2.39 +2.79 91.38 -3.67
Euro/dlr 1.36 -0.01 -0.63 1.34 1.96
* ICE sugar and ICE coffee in cents per lb; ICE cocoa, Liffe
sugar and Liffe coffee in dollars per tonne; Liffe cocoa in
pounds per tonne.
(Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE70R1FF20110128)
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