SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Thai raw sugar premiums shrugged off a deadly typhoon in the Philippines that destroyed cane plantations, while Tokyo rubber futures traders awaited the outcome of a leadership meeting in China for clues on economic reform, dealers said on Monday.
In the robusta market, beans from Vietnam could trade below London futures this week as the crop harvests gain pace. Cocoa butter premiums could stay at last week's level on last-minute purchases from chocolate makers.
Early indications showed Thai raw sugar premiums unchanged from last week's levels of 60 to 90 points to New York futures, after damage caused by typhoon Haiyan to plantations in the Philippines failed to stir up worries about supply.
Front-month March raw sugar has fallen more than 10 percent since hitting a 1-year high around 20 U.S. cents a pound on Oct. 18 in a rally triggered by a fire at four warehouses in Brazil's Santos port.
"New York raw sugar has been consolidating recently, but we know that global stocks are not dangerously low," said Vanessa Tan, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"The fires in Brazil have earlier pushed up the market, but then prices dropped again. That tells you there's sufficient stocks of sugar," said Tan, who pegged support at 17.3 cents and resistance at 19 cents.
The typhoon that struck central Philippines on Friday has ravaged cane-growing areas that produce up to 150,000 tonnes of raw sugar, according to the head of the country's sugar regulatory agency.
The Philippines, which accounts for about 1.3 percent of global output, consumes most of its production, which has been estimated at 2.5 million tonnes for the 2013/14 crop year.
"The offers for Thai premiums are unchanged. The impact of the typhoon is limited and only restricted to the Philippines," said a physical dealer in Bangkok.
In rubber, benchmark Tokyo futures could trade in a range of 250 to 276 yen a kg, with some dealers setting their eyes on top consumer China, where leaders started a four-day special meeting on Saturday to set the reform agenda for the next decade.
"We may expect some announcement from China when the leaders meeting is over this week. If positive news comes out, then the market will move up," said a dealer in Tokyo.
The most active rubber contract on Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently April 2014, added 2.2 yen a kg to 259.1 yen, because of a weaker yen, but still down from a 3-1/2-month high around 290 yen in September.
