Sugar Delivery May Rose more 3 percent, Coffee Fell as traders cover short Position

Sugar for May delivery rose 3.3% to $27.45 cents a pound. Raw sugar prices rebounded as traders covered their short positions. "It fell down from 30, so it deserves a little bouncing," PFGBEST Research analyst Robin Rosenberg told TheStreet. The commodity was down 2.1% the day before as India approved the export of 500,000 tons of sugar, easing supply concerns. Coffee prices slipped slightly as the markets try to regain "equilibrium" following the tumultuous trading environment over the last weeks, Rosenberg said.

Coffee for May delivery fell 1% to $2.66 a pound, but overall prices remain high. The commodity has soared 85.9% over the past 12 months. Maxwell House maker Kraft(KFT_), Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts maker J.M. Smucker(SJM_) and Starbucks(SBUX_) have all raised their packaged coffee prices. Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz blames the rising input costs on coffee speculators, though Rosenberg asks, "Mr. Shultz, don't you hedge your company's risk?"

"Speculators make up just a portion of the trading population. The sole purpose of commodity exchanges is to allow users and producers to hedge their risk exposure," he said in a report.