NY cocoa ends at 2-1/2-mth top, coffee and sugar fall

July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. cocoa futures settled at a
2-1/2-month high on Tuesday, turning firm on strong technical
indicators while arabica coffee and raw sugar followed the weak
commodity complex and closed lower.

2:02 PM SETTLE NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT
CHNG CHNG VOL
Sugar OCT 22.64 -0.15 -0.7% 22.35 23.00 42,743
Sugar MAR 22.9 -0.14 -0.6% 22.70 23.20 21,490
Cocoa SEP 2376 29 1.2% 2,312 2,387 18,048
Cocoa DEC 2388 27 1.2% 2,323 2,397 8,789
Coffee SEP 174.4 -3.7 -2.1% 172.70 178.65 13,343
Coffee DEC 177.25 -3.5 -1.9% 175.55 181.35 6,161

TOTAL MARKET VOLUME
CURRENT 30D AVG 250D AVG
ICE SUGAR 82,035 121,319 96,515
ICE COCOA 32,772 20,589 21,697
ICE COFFEE 22,495 22,630 22,048

RAW SUGAR
* Benchmark October raw sugar futures eased 0.16
cent, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 22.64 cents a lb.
* October traded on both sides of the 200-day moving average
at 22.72 cents.
* Weak Thomson Reuters CRB index provided spillover
pressure - traders.
* Annual monsoon rains in No. 2 sugar producer India are 21
percent below average since the four-month season began in June,
threatening crops. The weather office there is likely to issue a
revised monsoon season forecast later this week, Farm Minister
Sharad Pawar said.
* "Right now, unless the situation declines from here, a lot
of that's priced into the market at the moment." - Spencer
Patton, founder and chief investment officer of
commodities-based hedge fund Steel Vine Investment in Chicago.
* Total open interest jumped by a heavy 10,655 lots to
672,597 lots on July 30, the highest since July 13 - ICE data.

ARABICA COFFEE
* September arabica futures fell 3.95 cents, or 2.2
percent, to finish at $1.7440 per lb.
* The benchmark contract closed between its 100-day and
60-day moving averages.
* The market gave back the previous session's gains on
profit-taking and pressure from the weak commodity complex -
traders.
* ICE certified arabica stocks inched up by 2,718 bags to
1,766,955 bags, the highest since October 2010, with a heavy
63,742 bags pending grading - ICE data.
* Arabica stocks have risen every day in July - exchange
data.

COCOA
* Benchmark September cocoa futures rose $35, or 1.5
percent, to settle at $2,376 a tonne, the highest settlement for
the spot contract since May 10.
* Total volume heavy at 32,772 lots, the highest since July
12 - preliminary Thomson Reuters, ICE data.
* ICE cocoa futures were the strongest performer on the CRB.
* Chart-based buying helped lift the market after it closed
above the 200-day moving average that sat around $2,331 in the
previous session.
* Additional support came from the bullish sentiment as the
market digested Monday's news, originally viewed as bearish by
some, that top grower Ivory Coast sold around 910,000 tonnes,
nearly 70 percent, of its projected 2012/2013 cocoa harvest.

* "We've seen cocoa prices remain stable. That tells me
there is solid buying interest in this market. You're going to
have less significant sellers for the back half of the year." -
Patton said.
* Total open interest inched up by 102 lots to 192,062 lots
on July 30, the highest since Nov. 4, 2011 - ICE data.

For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets:
Sugar futures/spreads Sugar cash prices
Coffee futures/spreads Coffee cash prices
Cocoa futures/spreads Cocoa cash prices

RELATED NEWS AND OTHER TOPICS
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(Reporting by Marcy Nicholson; Editing by Marguerita Choy)