Sugar tumbles 5.3pc as commodities drop on SEC-Goldman case
Monday, 19 April 2010
NEW DELHI, April 18 (Bloomberg): Sugar tumbled more than 5 per cent, leading commodities lower, after the US filed a fraud suit against Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of Wall Street's biggest traders and brokers of raw materials.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB index of 19 agricultural, energy and metal prices headed for the biggest drop in seven weeks. The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Goldman of defrauding investors in financial products tied to subprime mortgages. US equities also slumped the most since February.
"The sell-off is because of Goldman," said Michael K. Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options in Port St. Lucie, Florida. "This news may keep commodities depressed for the next few days."
Raw sugar for July delivery declined 0.9 cent, or 5.3 per cent, to 16.18 cents a pound on ICE Futures US, the biggest drop since March 31. The price declined 3.5 per cent this week.
Sugar has plunged 47 per cent since reaching a 29-year high of 30.4 cents on Feb. 1 amid forecasts for bigger crops in Brazil, the world's leading producer, and India, the second- largest.
Refined sugar for August delivery declined $10.30, or 2.1 per cent, to $486.30 a metric ton on the Liffe exchange in London.
In New York, arabica coffee for July delivery dropped 2.6 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $1.308 a pound, the biggest decline since April 8. The contract fell 2.8 per cent this week.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB index of 19 agricultural, energy and metal prices headed for the biggest drop in seven weeks. The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Goldman of defrauding investors in financial products tied to subprime mortgages. US equities also slumped the most since February.
"The sell-off is because of Goldman," said Michael K. Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options in Port St. Lucie, Florida. "This news may keep commodities depressed for the next few days."
Raw sugar for July delivery declined 0.9 cent, or 5.3 per cent, to 16.18 cents a pound on ICE Futures US, the biggest drop since March 31. The price declined 3.5 per cent this week.
Sugar has plunged 47 per cent since reaching a 29-year high of 30.4 cents on Feb. 1 amid forecasts for bigger crops in Brazil, the world's leading producer, and India, the second- largest.
Refined sugar for August delivery declined $10.30, or 2.1 per cent, to $486.30 a metric ton on the Liffe exchange in London.
In New York, arabica coffee for July delivery dropped 2.6 cents, or 1.9 per cent, to $1.308 a pound, the biggest decline since April 8. The contract fell 2.8 per cent this week.