NEW YORK: ICE raw sugar futures closed down 5.3 percent on Thursday, their biggest one-day slump in 3 months, pressured by the strong US dollar and a wave of automatic sell orders that caused them to give back all the gains from Tuesday's steep rally.
Arabica coffee futures also tumbled, closing down 3.2 percent, feeling spillover pressure from the Liffe robusta market that fell to a 13-month low on harvest pressure in Vietnam. US cocoa also closed lower. All three markets saw heavy volume.
Stocks and the euro slid on persistent worries about the European debt crisis, even as service-sector gains and better-than-expected jobs data in the United States boosted hopes for the recovery in the world's biggest economy. 2:00 PM
SUGAR
* Key March raw sugar futures sank down 1.29 cents, or 5.3 percent, to settle at 23.13 cents a lb.
* Market saw its biggest daily loss since xxx, taking it sharply below Wednesday's seven-week high at 24.65 cents per lb.
* March contract gave back gains from Tuesday's steep rally, when it closed up 5.2 percent in its biggest one-day surge in 4-1/2 months - traders.
* Sugar futures pressured by the strong US dollar and a wave of automatic sell orders - traders.
* Talk that the European Union may cancel tenders to import sugar in January and February also gave the market a nudge lower - traders.
* Volume was above 114,000 lots, more than double the 30-day average as funds were believed to be positioning themselves at the beginning of the quarter - traders.
COFFEE
* Key March arabica coffee tumbled 7.15 cents, or 3.2 percent, to finish at $2.1955 per lb.
* "The dollar's sharply up today, and that's adding quite a bit of pressure." - James Cordier, head trader for optionsellers.com n Florida.
* Market saw its biggest daily percentage fall since Oct. 31.
* The weak Liffe robusta market also added pressure - traders.
* ICE certified arabica stocks rose by 1,310 bags to 1,530,344 bags on Jan. 4 with 10,246 bags pending grading - ICE data.
COCOA
* Key March cocoa closed down $47, or 2.3 percent, at $2,028 per tonne.
* Market weighed by the weak sterling against the US dollar and plentiful nearby African supplies - traders.
* Farmgate cocoa prices in Ivory Coast's main growing regions rose slightly last week as buyers built stockpiles ahead of an expected slowdown in supply from February - farmers.
* Total open interest inched up 758 lots to 174,140 lots on Jan. 4, reaching the highest level since Nov. 8 - ICE data.
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