Sugar Declines As India May Boost Exports; Coffee, Cocoa Advance.

Sugar fell for the second straight session on signs of increased exports from India, the world's biggest producer after Brazil. Coffee and cocoa gained.

India's sugar supplies may outpace demand by 4 million metric tons in the 2011-2012 season, and "large quantities" may be exported, according to Abinash Verma, director-general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association. On Aug. 12, the country said it would allow mills and traders to ship 24 percent more than previously permitted.

"The additional exports for the fourth quarter and the talk of a larger surplus in the new season could be playing a major role in the market being lower," Keith Flury, a London- based analyst at Rabobank International, said in a telephone interview.

Raw sugar for October delivery dropped 0.22 cent, or 0.8 percent, to 27.62 cents a pound at 12:24 p.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.

Arabica-coffee futures for December delivery advanced 5.4 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $2.4925 a pound on ICE. Earlier, the price jumped as much as 3.2 percent to $2.5175, the highest since July 19.

Prices gained as the dollar dropped by as much as 1.1 percent against a basket of six major currencies, increasing investor demand for commodities as alternative assets, Hector Galvan, a senior trading adviser at RJO Futures, said in a telephone interview from Chicago.

Cocoa futures for December delivery advanced $26, or 0.9 percent, to $2,933 a ton on ICE.

On NYSE Liffe in London, sugar retreated, while coffee and cocoa advanced.

Source : sfgate.com