Raw sugar falls, white sugar extends gains

ICE raw sugar prices fell on Friday as renewed economic growth fears caused by the coronavirus pandemic outweighed stimulus efforts by global policymakers, though white sugar continued to rise.
Arabica coffee sank more than 5%, meanwhile.
May raw sugar fell 0.08 cents, or 0.7%, to 11.25 cents per lb by 1455 GMT.
European stocks halted their three-day stimulus driven rally while oil prices plunged. Weak energy prices tend to drive Brazilian cane mills to produce more sugar at the expense of the cane-based biofuel ethanol.
Analyst Green Pool said it now expects a global sugar surplus in the 2020/21 season as the coronavirus pandemic dents demand growth and the oil price war encourages a switch to more production of the sweetener in Brazil.
Sugar trader Czarnikow said it has reduced its EU sugar consumption estimate by 700,000 tonnes or 4% for the rest of 19/20 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Its EU production deficit has been lowered to 400,000 tonnes.
May white sugar rose $5.9, or 1.7%, to $356.30 a tonne, having closed up 3.4% on Thursday.
Dealers fear the lockdown in India, a top sugar producer, could hurt the flow of white sugar from the country.
May arabica coffee sank 7.3 cents or 5.9% to $1.1650 per lb, having closed down more than 4% on Thursday after setting a 2-1/2 month high of $1.3065.
Arabica has risen sharply during the last few days boosted by operational hurdles in Brazil linked to the coronavirus, but dealers are also trying to adjust for the global economic downturn.
May robusta coffee fell $23, or 1.8%, to $1,255 a tonne.
Vietnam's coffee exports in the first three months of the year likely fell 3.9% from a year earlier to 794,000 million tonnes, government data showed. Vietnam is the world's top robusta producer.
May London cocoa was down 21 pounds, or 1.2%, at 1,788 pounds a tonne.
Indonesia's export tax for cocoa beans has been set at 5% for April, down from 10% in March, government documents showed.
Nestle says it has made significant progress removing cocoa produced in protected forests in West Africa from its supply chain as pressure builds from consumers and governments for ethically sourced cocoa.
May New York cocoa fell $4, or 0.2%, to $2,251 a tonne.

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