Markets down broadly on dollar, China; sugar jumps
    * Oil, metals, soy fall on firm dlr, tighter China credit
    * RJ/CRB nears one-month low on broad commods selloff
    * Sugar at record high in London, 29-year peak in New York
   
    By Barani Krishnan
    NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Oil, metals and soybean prices
tumbled on Wednesday as pressure from a surging dollar and
fears over China's credit tightening triggered a retreat in
fund money that had fueled recent gains in commodities. 
   

But sugar bucked the downtrend, hitting record highs in
London and a 29-year peak in New York, as investors bet the
sweetener will see more demand than supply in the near term.
[SOF/L]
    The Reuters-CRB index <.CRB>, a commodities bellwether that
tracks prices across 19 mostly U.S.-traded futures markets,
fell to a near one-month low as the dollar hit a five-month
high against the euro. [ID:nN20142304]
    A stronger dollar generally weighs on commodities, making
them costlier for buyers using monies other than the greenback.
The euro fell on worries about Greece's ability to finance its
deficit. [USD/]
    "We're starting to see the commodity trade come off, mostly
on the stronger dollar," said market analyst Michael Hewson at
CMC Markets in London. 
       Sentiment was cautious over news that China, the No. 1
copper importer and a giant consumer of many other raw
materials, was trying to slow bank lending.[ID:nBJB003652]
    "China's plans to tighten credit markets continue to cause
concern, meaning that the release of GDP and other economic
data tomorrow will have to be very bullish to offset this,"
said David Wech, head of energy studies at Vienna's JBC
Energy.
    U.S. copper futures for March <HGH0> fell more than 3
percent to a one-week low below $3.34 a lb. [MET/L]
    Among precious metals, platinum and palladium fell sharply
from the previous session's 17-month highs in both spot and
futures trading. Gold lost more than 2 percent to touch a
two-week low under $1,110 an ounce in New York. [GOL/]
    On the energy front, U.S. crude oil's benchmark front-month
contract <CLc1> fell more than $2 to a session low of below $77
a barrel.
    Oil had surged to a 15-month high of almost $84 a barrel
this month, before the dollar rebounded and the cold weather
that had fed heating oil demand turned warmer.
    "The petroleum markets continue to take much of their
guidance from the financial markets, with both the retreat in
the equity markets and the firmer U.S. dollar prompting
short-term traders to sell petroleum," said Tim Evans, energy
analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York. [O/R]
    U.S. soybean futures for March <SH0> fell 2.3 percent to a
session low of $9.40-3/4 a bushel, their lowest since Oct. 9.
    Excellent soybean crop weather in South America and the
huge acreage planted to soy have weighed on soybean prices
since the start of the year.
    The credit tightening in China, the world's top buyer of
soybeans, also hit demand outlook for the crop, analysts said.
    "From my point of view, the soybean market is moving from a
demand-driven bull phase into a supply-driven bear phase as
we've had record U.S. production and a big and growing South
American crop," said Toby Hassall, an analyst with Commodity
Warrants Australia.