Raw sugar edges up amid uncertainty over US election

LONDON: Raw sugar futures on ICE edged up on Wednesday as worries over Indian exports continued to underpin prices, though many investors were on the sidelines as the outcome of Tuesday's US presidential elections remained uncertain.

SUGAR

March raw sugar edged up 0.07 cent to 14.79 per lb after at 1119 GMT, after touching an eight-month peak of 15.23 cents on Tuesday.

"Developments in the US are likely to dominate proceedings today which could mean sugar prices remain within the range. However, with the continuing silence from India the structure should remain firm," said a dealer.

India, a top sugar producer, has yet to renew export subsidies for the current 2020/21 season. Any delay to exports is seen tightening short-term sugar supplies.

France's Cristal Union expects its sugar beet harvest to drop by as much as 30% this year because of crop disease and drought.

December white sugar slipped $0.40, or 0.1%, to $196.50 a tonne.

COFFEE December arabica coffee edged up 0.15 cents, or 0.1%, to $1.0360 per lb, having hit a three-month low on Monday.

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) estimated there was a global surplus of 1.24 million 60kg bags in the 2019/20 season, down from a previous 1.54 million bags estimate.

It sounded a downbeat note about upcoming price prospects, however. "Concerns about further demand weakness (amid) renewed lockdowns are making the ICO sceptical about future trends in 2020/21," said Commerzbank in a note.

January robusta coffee edged up $4, or 0.3%, to $1,331 a tonne.

COCOA

March New York cocoa fell $4, or 0.2%, to $2,304 a tonne.

Alassane Ouattara has provisionally won a third term as president of Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, after a bitter election that sparked deadly violence and was boycotted by opposition voters.

March London cocoa fell 6 pounds, or 0.4%, to 1,601 pounds per tonne.