LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Cocoa futures on ICE fell more than 5% to their lowest in more than eight months on Thursday after worse than expected demand data from Europe and Asia.
Coffee, meanwhile, retreated after a rally triggered by U.S. tariffs on key producing countries.
COCOA
* London cocoa LCCc2 slid by 6.4% to 4,722 a metric ton by 1218 GMT, having hit its lowest since late October at $4,698.
* New York cocoa CCc2 lost 5% to $6,767 a ton after touching its lowest since early November at $6,751.
* Data earlier showed Europe's second-quarter cocoa grind, a measure of demand, fell 7.2% from a year earlier to its lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Asia's second-quarter grind fell by 16.3%
* Dealers noted that the Asia figure was the lowest since 2017 and that the Europe figure was below market expectations.
* Cocoa is under increasing pressure from signs of weakening demand.
* Barry Callebaut BARN.S, by far the world's largest chocolatier, this month cut its volume guidance for the year to August 31 by 7%, saying high cocoa prices and uncertainty over U.S. tariffs had prompted its customers to buy less.
COFFEE
* Arabica coffee KCc2 was down 0.9% at $3.0560 per lb, having hit a three-week high of $3.0995 on Wednesday.
* Robusta coffee fell 2.4% to $3,344 a ton, having gained 0.6% on Wednesday.
* Coffee prices, especially arabica, have been rallying since the U.S. said last week it will impose 50% tariffs on all imports from top coffee grower Brazil come August 1.
* On Wednesday, however, Brazilian coffee exporters group Cecafe said there are advanced discussions over the 50% tariff and it was not working with the hypothesis of a break in the supply of coffee to the U.S.
* About a third of U.S. coffee comes from Brazil and the tariffs, if they transpire, would all but halt the flow of Brazilian beans to the U.S., the world's top coffee drinker.
* Separately, Cecafe said that Brazilian green coffee exports in June fell 31% from a year earlier and were down 5.4% in the full 2024/25 July-June coffee season.
SUGAR
* Raw sugar SBc1 rose 1.6% to 16.82 cents per lb while white sugar LSUc1 gained 1.3% to $484.90 a ton.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Coca-Cola KO.N had agreed to use cane sugar in its beverages in the United States. Coca-Cola produced for the U.S. market is typically sweetened with corn syrup.
(Reporting by May AngelEditing by David Goodman)
((may.angel@thomsonreuters.com - https://x.com/ReutersAngelM;))
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