LONDON: Sugar, coffee and cocoa futures prices on ICE declined on light volumes on Monday as the dollar strengthened due to worries over the outlook for the global economy.
Stocks, oil and gold also fell as investors took positions ahead of the start of US corporate earnings reports, which are expected to reflect the impact of slowing global growth.
ICE March raw sugar futures dipped 0.07 cent or 0.3 percent to 21.47 cents per lb at 1152 GMT, down from Thursday's eight-week high of 21.77 cents.
"The stronger dollar will influence the direction of the market," a London-based sugar futures dealer said.
The stronger dollar against a basket of currencies made dollar-denominated soft commodity markets more expensive in terms of other currencies.
Expectations of a big global sugar surplus and a brisk cane crush in top grower Brazil also were weighing on prices.
"Looking forward, in Brazil we are still really weather-watching, and it seems there is little on the horizon to put scaremongering into the bears," Thomas Kujawa of brokerage Sucden Financial said, referring to the crush in Brazil.
Sugar demand from Indonesia, southeast Asia's largest consumer, could lift Thai raw premiums despite the approaching crushing season, dealers said.
Speculators cut net short positions in raw sugar by a whopping 18,624 lots, a drop of more than 93 percent, bringing it to a small 1,289 lots, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed.
December white sugar on Liffe eased 60 cents or 0.1 percent to $596.70 per tonne in thin volume of 807 lots.
COFFEE, COCOA
December arabica coffee futures on ICE fell 1.45 cent or 0.9 percent to $1.6665 per lb, pressured by the stronger dollar and light producer selling from top grower Brazil.
"Volumes are very thin, but currency is affecting the market. There is a little bit of producer selling from Brazil," one London-based coffee futures broker said.
Colombia's coffee production soared 13 percent in September from the same month a year ago, an indication that crops were recovering, the growers' federation said on Friday.
November robusta coffee futures fell $25 or 1.2 percent to $2,070 a tonne in moderate volume of 3,097 lots.
Cocoa futures were weighed down by prospects for the success of sector reforms in top grower Ivory Coast and by weak European demand ahead of third-quarter European grind figures due later this month.
"The grind is weighing on the market a tad," a London-based cocoa futures broker said.
March cocoa futures on Liffe were down 2 pounds or 0.1 percent at 1,530 pounds ($2,500) per tonne in light turnover of 1,661 lots.
Sunny skies and abundant rainfall across most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions accompanied the start last week of the 2012/13 harvesting season in the world's top grower, farmers and analysts said on Monday.
ICE December cocoa was down $14 or 0.6 percent to $2,368 per tonne.
Speculators reduced net long positions in cocoa futures and options on NYSE Liffe in the week to Oct. 2, exchange data showed on Monday. ($1 = 0.6176 British pounds)
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