LONDON: Sugar, arabica coffee and cocoa fell on Wednesday amid a sea of red across financial markets as rising coronavirus cases globally triggered fears of lockdowns disrupting an already fragile economic recovery.
March raw sugar fell 0.01 cent, or 0.1%, to 14.82 cents per lb by 1340 GMT, having set an eight-month peak of 15.04 cents on Tuesday.
Global equities and commodities including oil slumped while the dollar strengthened, making dollar-priced commodities costlier for non-US investors and thus deterring buying.
Dealers said sugar could slip on the back of macroeconomic jitters but is unlikely to collapse given ongoing uncertainty over India’s sugar export subsidy policy, which could come under pressure as government coffers tighten.
December white sugar fell $2.10, or 0.5%, to $395.40 a tonne.
March New York cocoa fell $75, or 3%, to $2,380 a tonne.
Dealers said the market was focused for now on falling demand amid the economic jitters. They added, however, that potential violence related to the presidential election in top producer Ivory Coast could disrupt supplies. March London cocoa fell 39 pounds, or 2.3%, to 1,645 pounds a tonne.
December arabica coffee fell 0.90 cent, or 0.8%, to $1.0605 per lb, having hit its lowest since late July last week at $1.0320. January robusta coffee bucked the trend however, rising $2, or 0.2%, to $1,353 a tonne after hitting a one-month high of $1,360.
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