Sugar Drops in New York as Dollar Strength Damps Commodities

By Ron Day

Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Sugar fell, its sixth decline in seven sessions, as a strengthening dollar damped demand for commodities.

The dollar gained for a seventh straight session against the euro, a day after the European Central Bank kept its main refinancing rate at a seven-year high of 4.25 percent. The rising dollar makes commodities traded in New York and Chicago more costly for buyers using other currencies.

Sugar futures for October delivery fell 0.05 cent, or 0.4 percent, to 12.6 cents a pound at 8:54 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S., the former New York Board of Trade. Through yesterday, the price had dropped 10 percent since Aug. 26. Still, most-active futures are up 17 percent this year before today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ron Day in New York at rday1@bloomberg.net.