Liffe May robusta coffee ends down $49 at $2,508 a tonne on Thursday. Drop in coffee prices led by slide in ICE arabicas. Liffe May cocoa ends down 15 pounds at 2,244 pounds a tonne. London cocoa pushed lower by sharp drop in ICE futures due to long liquidation.
Liffe May white sugar falls $23.50 to close at $727.60 a tonne. Market remains rangebound, turning lower on investor selling, under pressure from slide in ICE raw sugar futures. "It's a broad commodities sell-off," said Peter De Klerk, a senior analyst with sugar trade house Czarnikow in London.
Oil prices tumbled Thursday as the dollar strengthened on renewed Euro zone credit worries, though fears remained that prolonged conflict in Libya could do long-lasting damage its oil infrastructure. Cocoa futures prices careened lower for the third straight day, triggering automatic sell orders on long liquidation. The spread on the US market tightened, an indication that supplies are available on the market, dealers said.
The strengthening dollar added to the downside momentum. Political tensions in top producer Ivory Coast continued to underpin prices as limited cocoa supplies make it out of the country onto the world market. "Cocoa is a political risk trade. It's just going to whip around," a London-based analyst said. "You could lose your shirt on it in five minutes." Dealers said the market would remain vulnerable to corrections, as it is expected to climb higher, with no sign of a peaceful resolution in Ivory Coast.
The sugar market did not react to news that a committee of EU experts approved a 300,000 tonne import quota for raw and refined sugar with duties set at zero, as dealers said it was already priced in. India must soon allow 500,000 tonnes of unrestricted sugar exports as bumper output can easily help the world's top consumer ship out 1.5 million tonnes more of the sweetener, industry officials said on Thursday.
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