ICE raw sugar futures reversed direction to close down 3.5 percent on Tuesday, moving in a wide 3-cent range as the dollar strengthened and joining a broadbased commodity sell-off ahead of index fund rebalancing. Cocoa also moved sharply lower as concerns over supplies from Ivory Coast eased after a disputed election and Laurent Gbagbo surprised the trade and agreed to further talks.
Arabicas also closed lower, after a 77 percent surge in prices in 2010 amid tight availability of high-quality beans, while robusta coffee was only slightly lower. ICE raw sugar futures corrected higher early in the session, following last week's 10 percent sell-off, but pivoted violently lower as the US dollar strengthened and the commodity complex stumbled in broad selling. ICE March raw sugar tumbled 1.12 cents, or 3.5 percent, to close at 31 cents per lb, moving in a wide 3.1-cent range. ICE front-month March arabicas futures slipped 5.6 cents to close at $2.3495 per lb.