Markets tumble late as cocoa hits new 32-yr top

* Ivorian fighting nudges cocoa to new highs

* ICE sugar and coffee hit hardest by late selling (Recasts, updates with closing prices; adds NEW YORK byline/dateline)

By Rene Pastor and David Brough

NEW YORK/LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Soft commodity futures careened lower Friday on combined profit-taking and investor liquidation, although cocoa surged early to a 32-year high due to the virtual civil war in top producer Ivory Coast.

Sugar futures were hit hard and coffee was mixed, but the volume of business in the sell-off was low across the board.

"It (looks like) a sell program hit agri commodities," said Nick Gentile, the head of trading operations in commodity firm Atlantic Capital Advisors. "They're selling the complex, (and) it could be profit-taking."

Another dealer said: "It looks like one of these funds decided they wanted to short the market going into the weekend and dumped their positions across the board. There is really no news out there that triggered it. In fact, there has been no change in the bullish fundamentals for cocoa, sugar and coffee at this time."

The impact on the cocoa market was not as harsh and that may be because of the daily gunbattles in Ivory Coast and the virtual state of civil war in a country, which accounts for 40 percent of world supplies of cocoa beans.

New York's May cocoa contract fell $76 to settle at $3,657 per tonne, having posted a new 32-year intra-day peak at $3,775. Liffe's May cocoa contract lost 56 pounds to finish at 2,340 pounds per tonne.

ICE cocoa futures have rumbled to a 32-year high, despite forecasts of a surplus of cocoa beans in the market, driven by the prospect supplies may dry up due to the Ivorian crisis.

The trade was also concerned over prospects for Ivorian mid-crop supplies due to the violence.

"People believe the mid crop could be disrupted," said Keith Flury, a senior analyst with Rabobank in London.

Constraints on bank liquidity and security fears could also dissuade Ivorian growers from harvesting, dealers said.

Both the spot London and New York March cocoa futures contracts traded at premiums over May, an indication of the fear that supplies of Ivorian cocoa may come to a halt due to the fighting there.

SUGAR AND COFFEE FALL

Sugar futures were hit by liquidation and stop-loss sales, although the volume of business on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange continued to run roughly 50 percent below the 30-day norm.

New York's May raw sugar contract dropped 1.26 cents to trade at 29.33 cents per lb. London's May white sugar futures fell $21.80 to settle at $735.70 per tonne.

ICE's May arabica coffee futures fell 0.30 cent to trade at $2.7445 per lb. London's May robusta coffee was up $5 at $2,387 per tonne.

The sugar market is focused on the imminent start of cane harvesting in the centre-south of Brazil, the world's top sugar producer and exporter.

(Source: http://www.futurespros.com/news/softs-news/softs-markets-tumble-late-as-cocoa-hits-new-32-yr-top-1000008578)