Coffee, sugar and cocoa fall on investors' risk aversion

Cocoa, sugar and coffee futures all fell on Friday amid a commodities-wide selloff by investors seeking to reduce exposure to assets considered riskier as the U.S. economy gave signs of weakening .

Investors also reacted to the Trump administration slew of tariffs on dozens of trading partners, which could raise prices for tropical commodities like coffee and cocoa and hurt demand.

COCOA

* London cocoa futures C2! settled down 133 pounds, or 2.4%, at 5,384 pounds per metric ton, having closed up 3.5% on Thursday.

* Malaysia said on Friday the U.S., which has slapped a 19% tariff on the country, is open to not imposing tariffs on cocoa, rubber and palm oil, though a deal is still being finalised.

* The U.S. Commerce Secretary had said on Tuesday commodities not grown in the U.S. could be exempt from tariffs if deals with producing countries are reached, but there are many deals yet to be closed.

* Commerzbank noted that in the absence of trade deals tariffs of 15% will apply to Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce about 60% of the world's chocolate-making beans.

* New York futures CC1! fell 3.2% to $8,232 a ton.

COFFEE

* Arabica coffee futures KC1! settled down 11.6 cents, or 3.9%, at $2.842 per lb​.

* "Everything sold off today," said a U.S.-based coffee broker​.

* The U.S. on Wednesday slapped a 50% tariff on top coffee grower Brazil, effective August 6, though Brazilian exporters and U.S. sector lobbyists are continuing to push for an exemption.

* The steep tariff on Brazilian coffee looks set to reshuffle trade routes for the beans, benefiting China and incentivizing traders to look for indirect routes into the U.S.

* Brazil's next year coffee crop could grow 15%, a survey with farmers indicated .

* Robusta coffee RC2! fell 2.2% to $3,259 a ton.

* Indonesia's Sumatra robusta coffee bean exports in June reached 53,870.2 tons, up 390% year-on-year, data showed.

SUGAR

* Raw sugar SB1! ​​settled down 0.17 cent, or 1%, at 16.18 cents per lb.

* Dealers said the market continues to be pressured by signs of improving global supplies.

* Sugar production in Brazil's key center-south region rose 15.07% in the first half of July when compared to the year-earlier period.

* White sugar SF1! lost 0.6% to $465.00 a ton.